According to OFweek New Energy Vehicle, at 7:30 AM on July 8, Xiaomi Auto's official account posted a concise update with the caption, 'SkyNomad. Sky, Nomad. A fresh name symbolizing space and life.'

With this single sentence, Xiaomi Auto officially announced the birth of its new brand. Given the timing of the announcement, some netizens speculate that a launch event for the new brand might take place on July 30 (Thursday). Moreover, reports suggest that SkyNomad's new vehicle will be rolled out in mid-to-late August, with over 10,000 units ready for immediate delivery upon launch.

Rumors about Xiaomi Auto launching a new brand, including its Chinese name and battery supplier, have been swirling. By piecing together information from various sources, it is widely believed that Xiaomi Auto's new brand will be named 'Xuntian,' targeting family, long-distance, and outdoor travel scenarios. It plans to make a splash in a new market segment with extended-range models and RV series as its key offerings.

Simultaneously, reports indicate that the first model under the 'Xuntian' brand, a mid-to-large-sized extended-range SUV named 'Kunlun N3,' is slated for launch in the latter half of this year. It will bear the new SKYNOMAD logo instead of the main Xiaomi brand logo. Future models like Kunlun 10, Kunlun 20, and Kunlun 30 are also in the pipeline.

However, a few days prior to Xiaomi's official announcement of 'SkyNomad' today, the 'Xiaomi Pengcheng' official account was registered and went live, featuring a profile picture with 'SkyNomad + Xiaomi Pengcheng.' Hence, it remains unclear whether the Chinese name for the new brand SkyNomad is 'Xuntian' or 'Pengcheng.'

What is certain at this juncture is that, unlike the pure electric high-performance approach adopted by the Xiaomi SU7 and YU7 series, SkyNomad is geared towards the extended-range family SUV and outdoor travel market. After all, Xiaomi Auto has explicitly stated that SkyNomad is 'a new name symbolizing space and life.'

This implies that SkyNomad, priced between RMB 200,000 and RMB 450,000, will directly compete with the Li Auto L series and Seres M series, aiming to carve out a niche in the mid-to-high-end family market.

It is reported that spy photos of Xiaomi's new vehicle undergoing road tests have recently surfaced online. Based on the images, it is widely believed that the vehicle belongs to the SkyNomad brand and features a rooftop tent.

Image source: Internet

In the first half of this year, Xiaomi Auto delivered approximately 180,300 new vehicles. For the entire year, Xiaomi Auto aims to achieve a delivery target of 550,000 units, with less than 40% of the goal accomplished so far. The sales pressure for the second half of the year is palpably immense. The SkyNomad brand models set to debut in the latter half of the year will undoubtedly shoulder a substantial sales burden.