GAC-Toyota Teams Up with Xiaomi to Launch Smart bZ7

RobertJun 17, 2025, 05:37 PM

【PCauto】At the recent GAC–Toyota “2025 Tech Day”, GAC-Toyota announced an establishment of strategic partnership with Xiaomi, revealing that the bZ7 will become the first joint-venture electric vehicle, deeply integrated with Xiaomi’s product ecosystem.

Positioned as a mid-size pure electric model, the bZ7 is built on the e-TNGA platform with an expected price range of approximately RM160,000-190,000.

bZ7 Controls Smart Home Devices via Xiaomi Partnership

Since the launch of the Xiaomi SU7 last year, its exceptional expandability and customization potential have captured the attention of young consumers, particularly with aftermarket products like detachable smart dual dials, physical buttons for the central control screen, walkie-talkies, universal-interface phone mounts, and smart fragrance systems.

At the press conference, GAC-Toyota demonstrated how owners can use the Xiaomi Pad as an in-vehicle extended screen to directly control Xiaomi smart home devices via the vehicle’s infotainment system. More notably, the system also supports Apple iPad, achieving cross-brand device integration.

Xiaomi emphasized: “This isn’t mere hardware stacking. When you say ‘go home’ in the car, the vehicle will automatically plan the route while activating your home’s air conditioning and water heater.” This scenario-based experience is based on the extended architecture validated by Xiaomi SU7, with its magnetic interface and standardized protocol serving as the technical foundation for this collaboration.

Toyota Tries to Solve Automotive Intelligence Challenges

For GAC Toyota, this collaboration directly addresses a critical challenge in its electrification transition. Despite Toyota’s global rollout of the bZ series, its intelligent systems have yet to make breakthroughs in the Chinese market.

Data shows that the user satisfaction rate of Toyota’s existing electric vehicle onboard systems is approximately 35% lower than that of emerging local Chinese brands. Integrated with Xiaomi, the bZ7 will gain access to Xiaomi’s global ecosystem of 574 million monthly active users.

As for Xiaomi, this represents an opportunity to enter the supply chain of mainstream car manufacturers. Lei Jun emphasized on his personal Weibo: “The automotive ecosystem needs large-scale platforms, and Toyota’s global annual sales of over 10 million units provide an ideal platform.” The collaboration adopts a model of “open interfaces + ecosystem revenue sharing,” with Xiaomi providing protocol standards while Toyota handles vehicle integration and safety validation.

Toyota’s First Whole-Vehicle Collaboration with Chinese Company

This collaboration marks two historic firsts: Toyota’s first opening of vehicle ecosystem interfaces to a Chinese tech company, and Xiaomi’s first deep integration with an international automaker.

Unlike Huawei’s full-stack partnership with Seres, for the GAC Toyota-Xiaomi model, some in-car functions and modules are integrated with Xiaomi, while Toyota retains control over the full vehicle. Scheduled for delivery in Q4 2025, the bZ7 represents a remarkable union between conservative and innovative forces, making its outcome particularly noteworthy.

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