When Xiaomi unveiled its N70 and N90 models yesterday, the standout moment came from the N90 Explorer Edition's factory-installed electric pop-up roof. With a single touch, the roof lifts to create over two meters of interior headroom, allowing occupants to stand fully upright inside the vehicle. It is an experience that immediately stirs the desire to hit the road and chase distant horizons.

Interestingly, Xiaomi did not pioneer this concept. Earlier, Dongfeng Fengxing's Forthing V9 Camper Edition brought a factory-equipped pop-up tent to market, also keeping total vehicle height under two meters with impressive integration. Leveraging the natural spaciousness of an MPV, it delivered a living experience close to that of a recreational vehicle.

Yet, the market reception for these two vehicles could hardly be more different. The V9 Camper Edition went largely unnoticed, with modest sales figures, while Xiaomi's N90 instantly became a viral sensation. Why did the same feature produce such divergent outcomes? Brand influence certainly plays a role, but attributing it all to Xiaomi's massive reach overlooks a deeper lesson for the automotive industry. This contrast reveals a head-on clash between two generations of car-making philosophy in product definition and communication strategy.

First, there is a fundamental difference between scene-based design and feature-based design. What traditional automakers should study closely is not that Xiaomi invented the pop-up roof, but that it refused to treat it as a mere add-on. Instead of simply bolting a tent onto the roof, Xiaomi engineered the entire experience around how people would actually live inside the space. Electric actuation, lightning protection, heated flooring, side wall niches—these details point not to isolated specifications but to a complete scenario: transforming the car into a mobile sanctuary where life can be enjoyed at any stop. This is the core gap between a feature and a scene. A feature says: my car has a roof that rises. A scene says: when you are outdoors, you can stand up to change clothes, set up a camera to photograph birds, sit comfortably to fish, or turn the car into a temporary bedroom, living room, or observation deck. Once the shift from feature to scene happens, the product's value transforms entirely.

The challenge for traditional automakers lies precisely here. Although "scenario-based car making" is a popular buzzword, many still operate as an extension of conventional R&D: build the car first, then layer on features, then tell consumers that a particular configuration serves a certain scenario. As a result, a pop-up roof is just a pop-up roof, a refrigerator is just a refrigerator, and a sofa is just a sofa. A truly scene-driven product demands reverse thinking: if I want to satisfy the user's needs in this situation, what should the entire vehicle look like? This may seem like a minor difference in sequence, but it determines whether a product can ignite an irresistible urge to buy. It brings to mind a classic marketing parable. When faced with a tribe that never wore shoes, a conventional marketer sees a tiny market because no one has the habit of wearing shoes. Another mindset sees an ocean of opportunity: if everyone could realize the value of shoes, this could become an enormous untapped market. What Xiaomi is doing is fundamentally the latter.

Second, there is the contrast between life stories and mechanical specifications. How a product is presented can lead to vastly different outcomes. Consider a matchmaker's approach. A plain introduction might say: the man is 25 and strong; the woman is 24 and elegant. A skilled matchmaker, however, paints a vivid picture: this young man can carry you princess-style up six flights without losing breath; this woman walking beside you draws envious glances wherever you go. Consumers remember not the specifications themselves but how those specifications improve their lives. Xiaomi's communication around the pop-up roof is doing exactly that. Lei Jun and the Xiaomi team repeatedly emphasize not a cold mechanical structure but tangible life scenes: standing up inside an SUV to change into a wedding gown, mounting a camera to photograph birds, sitting comfortably to fish. They are selling more than a roof tent; they are selling an aspirational lifestyle. Traditional automakers, by contrast, still rely heavily on the industry's decades-old vocabulary: power, economy, space, safety, chassis, fuel consumption. These factors are important, but for a genuinely differentiated innovation, simply telling consumers what you have is far from enough. The crucial message is: with this, how will your life change? The Forthing V9 Camper Edition's shortcoming may not be the product itself but the failure to narrate the lifestyle behind it. When consumers see only an MPV with a tent attached, it is bound to be perceived as a niche configuration. But if they saw a family driving to the mountains on a weekend, with an expandable mobile living room and bedroom ready at any moment, the product's significance would be entirely different.

Third, community-driven breakout power matters profoundly. Even with the first two elements in place, a great product can still be buried without discussion and word-of-mouth. This is where the gap between internet-native companies and traditional automakers becomes most apparent. Xiaomi commands a vast user base, a dedicated fan community, and a rich content ecosystem. It can turn a feature that might otherwise be niche or even controversial into a nationwide topic of conversation. Some praise it, some question it, some criticize it—but everyone talks about it. And discussion itself is propagation. This creates a moat that traditional automakers struggle to replicate. It is not that they cannot conceive similar products; it is that even if they do, securing comparable market response is extremely difficult. Once a product leaves the R&D department, it must pass through media, dealers, owners, social platforms, and customer reviews. Without a proprietary user community, a company must continually purchase attention from external media. Without its own narrative system, how a product is ultimately interpreted largely falls into others' hands. Xiaomi is different. It owns its users, its content ecosystem, and its communication channels. Thus, a niche function that appeals to a small enthusiast circle can swiftly ascend from a minor demand to a mainstream topic. This is what traditional automakers should genuinely ponder.

In the final analysis, the quiet reception of the Forthing V9 Camper Edition and the spotlight on Xiaomi's N90 Explorer Edition raise a question far more significant than who launched a pop-up roof first. The real issue is why identical innovation yields completely different market results in different corporate hands. New energy and intelligence are redefining the automobile. In the past, a car company's core capability was building vehicles; today, manufacturing prowess alone is woefully inadequate. You must understand the scenarios in which users will employ the product, why that need arises, and how to make more people realize: this is something I need too. This reflects a deeper challenge confronting conventional automakers. For decades, the relationship between carmakers and customers was transactional: companies built cars, and people bought them. So many traditional manufacturers boast millions of owners yet lack a true community or narrative platform of their own. BYD has cultivated loyal "Di Fen" enthusiasts, NIO has built strong customer bonds through service and community, but many other giants—including Chery, Geely, and Changan—still focus on products and distribution while rarely managing their users as a strategic asset. When the market enters an era defined by rapid iteration and social media dissemination, they encounter an awkward predicament: we have products, but not enough people telling our stories; we have users, but no cohesive community that feels like ours. As a result, even intriguing innovations can fade into obscurity for lack of communication.

What traditional automakers should learn from Xiaomi's N90 success is not how to engineer a pop-up roof. It is how to transform a product innovation into a lifestyle that users understand, aspire to, and actively share. From product definition, to narrative, to user engagement—if legacy carmakers want to turn hidden niche demands into mainstream hits, what needs to change is not adding more configurations. It is a fundamental rethink: are we building a vehicle, or are we creating a new way of life?