Xiaomi's Skynomad SUV Has a Built-In Fridge and Pop-Up Tent — You Just Can't Buy It Yet
Xiaomi has started delivering its Skynomad hybrid SUV lineup across 75 cities in China, and the spec sheet reads more like a glamping catalog than a car brochure. CEO Lei Jun personally handed over keys at ceremonies in Shanghai and Xuzhou, signaling how seriously the phone-maker is treating its automotive ambitions — following the strong reception of its SU7 electric sedan.
Four models, one wild flagship
The range spans four variants priced from 209,900 yuan (around $31,300) for the N70 Pro front-wheel-drive entry to 299,900 yuan ($44,100) for the N90 Max Explorer Edition. That top model seats seven and adds what Xiaomi calls an electric pop-up roof tent — effectively a fabric second floor that deploys from the roofline. No production rival currently bundles an electric pop-up tent as standard equipment.
The smaller N70 (4,960 mm long, 2,950 mm wheelbase) fits five and lets the front seats rotate 180° while the rear row reclines to 135°, turning the cabin into a flat rest area. The larger N90 stretches to 5,285 mm with a 3,080 mm wheelbase, offers an 11-layout 2+2+3 configuration, and can swallow up to 1,831 liters of cargo.
What's inside
Every Skynomad model ships with a 9-liter compressor refrigerator on floor rails and a roof-mounted screen for rear passengers. Optional extras include a projector ($1,500) and electric running boards ($900). The Explorer Edition stacks the pop-up tent on top of all that.
On the powertrain side, Xiaomi uses an extended-range electric (EREV) architecture — a battery-dominant system with a petrol engine acting as a generator rather than driving the wheels directly. Combined range runs from 1,351 to 1,705 km on China's CLTC test cycle; real-world WLTP figures for Western markets would be considerably lower. Fast charging takes the battery from 20% to 80% in 18 minutes, per Electrek.
Why you can't get one
Pre-orders cleared 100,000 units in the first week and 10,000 in the first four minutes at launch. The demand is real — but so are the barriers outside China. US tariffs on Chinese vehicles and the absence of federal safety certification make a stateside sale legally impossible today. The UK and Europe face separate type-approval requirements (WVTA), and per AutoExpress, Xiaomi is targeting European sales by 2028 at the latest. Regulatory clearance, especially around the vehicle's AI systems under the EU AI Act, is still unresolved.
At $31,300 to $44,100 in Chinese pricing, the Skynomad undercuts rivals like the Li Auto L9 and AITO M9 — both of which start above $36,000 in China. Whether that pricing survives a Western import duty environment is a different question entirely.