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- 🔥 Price War: Xiaomi Chases Tesla
🔥 Price War: Xiaomi Chases Tesla
Reading time: 4 min 55 sec
☕️ Good morning comrades,
we reported it a few days ago: the Trump smartphone is most likely “Made in China.”
Now the master of words has admitted it – in a very roundabout way: it’s a phone “designed with American values in mind.” Well, well, well…
We’re happy for a company with German values: Leica is reporting record sales. In Japan, its optics are in the Leitz Phone, in China in the Xiaomi 14.
Have a great weekend!
🚀 Benchmarks
| Index | Current | 24 h | YTD | 52W High |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇩🇪 DAX | 23,649.30 | +0.64 % | +18.10 % | 24,479.42 |
| 🇺🇸 NASDAQ | 20,143.70 | +0.85 % | +4.46 % | 20,204.58 |
| 🇰🇷 KOSPI | 3,079.56 | –0.92 % | +28.37 % | 3,129.09 |
| 🇯🇵 Nikkei | 39,584.58 | +1.65 % | +0.71 % | 42,426.77 |
| 🇭🇰 Hang Seng | 24,325.40 | –0.61 % | +23.96 % | 24,874.39 |
| 🇨🇳 Shanghai | 3,448.45 | –0.22 % | +5.70 % | 3,674.41 |
🔢 Facts & Figures
3.1%
That’s how much consumer prices rose in Tokyo in June 2025, remaining well above the Bank of Japan’s 2 percent target – even though the rate dipped slightly from 3.6% in May.
13 billion USD
That’s how much CATL is investing to build its own battery value chain in Europe.
100 million USD
That’s the fresh capital raised by India’s drone maker Raphe – the largest funding round to date for a defense startup.
Top Bit: 🚗 Xiaomi YU 7: 200,000 Pre-Orders in 3 Minutes
Xiaomi takes direct aim at Tesla: The new electric SUV, the YU7, hits the market about 10,000 yuan (approx. $1,380) cheaper than the Model Y. Within just three minutes of launch, over 200,000 binding pre-orders were placed.
Details
🇨🇳 Aggressive pricing: Starts at 253,500 yuan ($34,900); top model YU7 Max starts at 329,900 yuan ($45,400).
🔋 Range: Up to 760 km per charge – around 40 km more than Tesla’s Model Y Long Range.
🧠 Assistance tech: Nvidia’s Thor chip delivers 700 TOPS computing power for advanced driver-assistance systems.
🏭 Production: Citi estimates 30,000 YU7 units shipped monthly. Xiaomi promises delivery in 1–5 weeks due to active mass production.
💰 Pre-sale model: 5,000 yuan down payment, non-refundable after a few days – potential revenue over €8 billion.
Why it matters
Price pressure on Tesla: A significantly cheaper rival could erode Model Y's market share in China.
Semiconductor signal: Chinese automakers now use high-end chips like Nvidia’s Thor, closing the tech gap.
Consumer momentum: Massive instant demand shows the explosive growth potential of China’s EV market.
Background
Tesla still leads the global electric SUV market, but recent sales declines in Europe and aggressive tactics by Chinese brands are turning up the pressure.
Xiaomi, whose first EV launched only in 2024, is following its smartphone playbook: high volume, low margin, tight ecosystem.
Analysts see China as the epicenter of global EV growth, thanks to its battery strength and state subsidies.
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Head Of The Day
Bom Kim
🛒 From Harvard Dropout to Delivery Tycoon: In 2010, Bom Kim launched his e-commerce baby Coupang in Seoul and turned “Rocket Delivery” – packages delivered before dawn – into the new norm.
After billions in SoftBank funding and a New York IPO in 2021, the 46-year-old is now hailed as Korea’s Amazon slayer; his current net worth is estimated at around $4.3 billion.
Market Bit: 🧬 XtalPi Secures Billion-Dollar U.S. Deal
Details
🧠 What XtalPi Does: The Shenzhen-based company combines quantum chemistry simulations, generative AI models, and fully automated robotic labs into an end-to-end platform that can design, synthesize, and test thousands of drug candidates within weeks — a process that once took months or years.
🤝 Deal With Harvard Founder Greg Verdine: DoveTree is paying XtalPi $100 million upfront and securing exclusive rights to future cancer, autoimmune, and neurotherapies co-developed by the two.
💰 Milestone Potential > $10 Billion: If clinical and commercial milestones are met, XtalPi stands to earn multi-billion-dollar development and sales payments, plus single-digit royalties on revenues.
🌐 Division of Roles: XtalPi provides the AI-optimized candidates, while DoveTree handles clinical trials and global commercialization — with revenue sharing in place.
Why it matters
Platform validation: The largest deal between a Chinese AI biotech and a U.S. partner proves that its technology is recognized globally as top-tier and attracts capital.
R&D turbo boost: AI-driven robotics can dramatically cut development times and reduce R&D costs — potentially ushering in a new paradigm for the entire pharmaceutical industry.
Geopolitical bridge: Despite trade tensions, a U.S. spin-out and a Shenzhen-based player are working closely together — a sign that top-tier innovation continues to transcend national borders.
Top Reads
🇰🇵 North Korea opens $1.4 billion resort “Wonsan Kalma”: Kim Jong Un has inaugurated the new coastal complex designed to host up to 20,000 guests. Starting July 1, only locals will be allowed to check in; foreign visitors remain excluded due to sanctions and lingering post-Covid restrictions. More on this.
🇨🇳 BYD hits the brakes: The EV giant is cutting night shifts, reducing output by about a third at no fewer than four plants, and halting new production lines. The reason: rising inventories despite price cuts (entry model now from ¥55,800) and weaker sales. The 5.5 million unit target for the year is in jeopardy. More on this.
🇺🇸 Rare-earth deal with Beijing finalized: Washington and Beijing have agreed on a framework to revive Chinese rare-earth shipments to the US. Once materials arrive, the Trump administration plans to lift its retaliatory tariffs, said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. More on this.
Optional Reads
China: In Qingdao, the defense ministers of Russia, Iran, and other SCO member states convened. More on this.
Thailand: Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra faces a constitutional court ruling and a looming no-confidence vote next week. More on this.
Hong Kong: $12.8 billion in equity inflows in the first half of the year – a Shein IPO could cement the recovery. More on this.
🥠 Behind the Bits
Every Friday, we're now giving you a behind-the-scenes look at asiabits.
Yes, we’re real people made of flesh and blood – not AI-generated. 😉
Thomas looking all thoughtful on the train.
Thomas took the Gaotie from Zhejiang to Shanghai on Tuesday. That’s when he remembered a viral post he’d seen on LinkedIn a while ago. A German user had praised China’s rail system – and got absolutely torn apart in the comments.
So he made a post about that.
It went viral, too.
Take a look and feel free to join the discussion.
How did you like today's issue? |
See you tomorrow,
Thomas, Michael & the Team of asiabits.
Imprint
Editors: Michael Broza, Thomas Derksen, William Hu, Eva Trotno, Cindy Zhang
Content responsibility: Thomas Derksen
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