Gasgoo Munich-Xiaomi EV has revealed its entire SkyNomad lineup now comes standard with "low-speed driving lights." Positioned beneath the side mirrors, these lights use a dual-color white and red source to illuminate up to 12.88 square meters on one side of the vehicle. They activate automatically during low-speed maneuvers—such as navigating narrow roads at night, parking, or pulling over—casting light on the pavement alongside the car.
The system operates entirely on its own. Once the headlights are on, the lights activate automatically when the vehicle detects darkness and drops below 10 km/h; they cut out immediately once speed exceeds that threshold. The feature kicks in during specific situations—such as unlocking the car, reversing, or engaging the surround-view camera—requiring no manual intervention from the driver.
Image Credit: Xiaomi EV
From an industry standpoint, the concept isn't entirely new; it's essentially an evolution of the puddle light. Traditionally, these lights serve a purely cosmetic function, illuminating a small patch of ground when a door is opened to welcome passengers. Xiaomi, however, has expanded their utility to low-speed driving scenarios, effectively transforming a decorative feature into a functional safety aid.
The feature addresses a persistent blind spot in mid-to-large SUVs. Consider the SkyNomad N90 Max: measuring 5,285 mm in length with a 3,080 mm wheelbase, it’s a substantial vehicle. At night, standard low beams focus strictly on the road ahead, leaving the immediate periphery in darkness. In tight situations—navigating narrow alleyways in older neighborhoods, maneuvering in underground garages, or pulling over—curbs, low obstacles, cyclists, and pedestrians can easily go unseen, leading to scrapes or collisions.
Conventional vehicles typically rely on reverse and indicator lights in these moments, but those offer limited coverage and only function when the car is actively backing up or turning. They offer no help during a slow creep. The low-speed driving light fills that void, triggering automatically based on speed to cast a wide glow along the sides of the vehicle as it moves.
Across the industry, ground illumination is shifting from a discretionary add-on to a regulated safety feature. An industry standard set for 2026 will formally categorize these lights as safety aids, mandating specific metrics: illumination uniformity of at least 65%, a beam spread angle within ±12 degrees, and a response time under 0.3 seconds. By making the low-speed driving light standard across its lineup, Xiaomi is effectively getting ahead of this regulatory curve.
