The burned SU7

AsianFin – A deadly Xiaomi electric vehicle (EV) accident on Friday night that claimed the lives of three university graduates has shocked the entire China, raising questions about how it happened and what could have led to it.

Online footage circulating since March 29 shows a severely burned vehicle in east-central China's Anhui province that appears to be a Xiaomi SU7, with the front end completely destroyed after colliding with a highway guardrail and catching fire.. 

Xiaomi's EV division has formed an emergency response team following reports of the faccident involving an SU7 sedan, released in March 2024.

According to unverified social media claims from a source identifying as a passenger's relative, the March 29 crash resulted in locked doors and a battery fire that allegedly trapped and killed three occupants. Xiaomi EV's customer service confirmed on Tuesday that a specialized team has been dispatched to provide cooperation to an investigation that is underway.

The company pledged to fully support police investigations, assist affected families, and publish official findings through proper channels.

Following the news, Xiaomi's stock dropped as much as 6.1% in Hong Kong. The company's shares have fallen nearly 18% since last week, when Xiaomi raised approximately $5.5 billion in an equity sale to support the expansion of its electric vehicle business.

In leaked WeChat chat records, an individual named "Hua" identified himself as the boyfriend of one of the victims and provided an overview of the accident.

According to him, the vehicle caught fire after the crash, resulting in the deaths of all three occupants. One of the victims was the car owner and his girlfriend. He claimed that the primary cause of the tragedy was that after the vehicle started burning upon impact, the car locks failed to unlock, denying the victims the last chance of escaping. Rescuers on the scene were unable to break the windows in time due to the rapid spread of the fire.

Hua also shared photos of the wrecked vehicle, showing that it was completely burned, leaving only the metal frame. The doors remained shut, and based on the images, the fire seemed to have originated from the front of the car, which was almost entirely destroyed. The rear tires were still intact, and only the metal skeleton of the cabin remained. This suggests that the fire spread from the front to the rear of the vehicle.

He further alleged that the car was operating in the assisted driving mode but experienced a system failure, making it impossible to brake even with human intervention. "The initial police assessment suggests that the vehicle system was out of control," he claimed. However, whether the system malfunctioned and whether the brakes failed still require further investigation. The key piece of evidence in the inquiry is the Event Data Recorder (EDR), which has three backup copies, one of which should be provided by the vehicle manufacturer, Xiaomi EV.

Hua also shared photos of the vehicle before the accident, identifying it as a standard version of the Xiaomi SU7, which lacks LiDAR and does not support advanced intelligent driving but does offer highway-assisted driving.

Meanwhile, on the short-video platform Douyin, a user with the ID "Jing Shou Liu Nian" identified herself as the mother of one of the victims. She said that the vehicle was purchased in May 2024 and delivered on October 19, meaning the accident occurred less than six months after delivery. She was among the first to post two videos about the incident on Douyin, which quickly gained widespread attention.

“My daughter is one of the victims. Three young women were driving together to Chizhou, Anhui province, to take the civil service exam. The accident happened at 10:45 PM on March 29. After crashing into the guardrail, the car immediately caught fire, and the doors automatically locked. My kid in the driver and front passenger seats was burned alive. The fire raged for over an hour before firefighters and the police arrived—why did it take so long?” she asked.

“Xiaomi's engineers are to blame. Why would they have released an immature product that puts people's lives at risk? Lei Jun, I was your fan, but you must give us an explanation! My child is still a university student. How could they have died like this!” she added.

According to her account, the three victims were driving from Hubei province to Anhui province to take the exam when the accident happened at 10:45 PM on March 29. After colliding with a roadside guardrail, the vehicle immediately caught fire, and the doors automatically locked, trapping the occupants inside. Bystanders were unable to help, and it took over an hour for professional rescue teams to arrive at the scene, by which time the car had been severely burned.

As of press time, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun had not updated his Weibo account. He posted seven Weibo updates on Monday. Over the past week, Lei had consistently updated his personal Weibo account, posting at least twice daily, with a maximum of seven posts in a day, averaging over four posts per day.

A staff member from the Tongling City Emergency Medical Center responded that the victims were rushed to Huari Hospital, and an ambulance was dispatched immediately upon receiving the alert. A Huari Hospital staff member disclosed that when the medical team arrived, the two front-seat passengers were already "burned beyond recognition." The Zongyang County Funeral Home confirmed that two bodies were sent there after the accident. The Tongling Highway Management Center, responsible for the road section where the crash occurred, said that the cause of the accident is under investigation.

A family member of one of the deceased told the media that they were on their way to see their sister's remains.

The Elusive Mechanical Handle

Xiaomi EV customer service said that there is an emergency release handle located in the storage compartment beneath the door panel, designed for use in emergencies. The user manual also mentions that in cases where the vehicle is fully locked and the interior unlock button fails or during an emergency, the door can be opened by pulling the emergency mechanical handle inside the door.

Netizens share that most new energy vehicles (NEVs) are equipped with mechanical door locks for emergencies, but not many are aware of their location or how to use them. Unlike traditional cars where manual door locks are more intuitive, NEVs—especially those with advanced smart locking systems—often have emergency release handles concealed under door panels or within storage compartments.

According to an official summary released by Xiaomi EV, the accident vehicle activated NOA (Navigate on Autopilot) on the night of March 29, traveling at a speed of 116 km/h. Shortly after, a mild distraction alert was triggered, prompting the system to remind the driver to keep their hands on the steering wheel. NOA detected a potential obstacle ahead, issued a warning, and began decelerating before the driver took over control. The car then exited NOA mode and crashed into a concrete guardrail. Emergency medical personnel arrived at the scene approximately 30 minutes later.

Upon detecting obstacles on the road ahead, vehicles typically activate the AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking) system. However, Xiaomi's statement did not mention whether the AEB function was engaged in this incident. A smart driving technology expert told Jiemian News that the standard version of the Xiaomi SU7 lacks LiDAR, relying solely on a vision-based system, which may perform less effectively at night. This could have contributed to delayed obstacle recognition. Additionally, when a vehicle is traveling over 100 km/h, the detection range is relatively limited, which may prevent AEB from triggering.

"Although smart-assisted driving is highly promoted, drivers must still stay attentive, especially when driving at night without LiDAR hardware support," the expert noted.

The Two-Second Rection Time

It's important to highlight that from the moment NOA initiated deceleration to when the driver took over and the collision occurred, there were only about two seconds. This suggests that the driver had very little time to react.

Zhang Kangkang, a Ph.D in Automotive Engineering from Tsinghua University and an automotive blogger, stated in an interview with Jiemian News, “Under normal driving conditions, a driver should be able to react within two seconds. Taking the right action could mitigate the consequences, but it may not necessarily prevent the accident, as driving skills and reaction times vary from person to person.”

Xiaomi’s latest statement did not address the widely discussed question of whether the car doors unlocked in time after the crash.

In April last year, a Chinese influencer crashed while driving an SU7 on the Shanghai Tianma Circuit. Video footage of the incident shows the driver approaching a left-hand turn before losing control.

Despite multiple attempts to steer, the car barely responded and continued straight off the track, ultimately crashing into a barrier as the airbags deploy. The video, posted by Tang Zhu, has already garnered millions of views. Tang later examined the car's brakes, which had already endured five hot laps before the accident, revealing that the relatively small brake pads were severely worn.

Then, in June, another influencer driving an SU7 experienced a similar brake failure on a racetrack. In this case, the driver struggled to control the vehicle, frantically turning the wheel before the inevitable crash. When the car struck the wall, it had nearly spun around completely. Notably, the airbags failed to deploy, and the driver's seat collapsed as if it were made of cardboard.

There are also netizens complaining about the quality of Xiaomi products. "I started using Xiaomi phones over a decade ago and have used many of Xiaomi's products, including even electric kettles, water flossers, and pens. However, around 2021, I started to feel that while Xiaomi's products looked great in design, their quality was somewhat concerning, often breaking down for no apparent reason. I'm wondering if Xiaomi's quality has improved in the past two years? A car is a completely different product—safety and quality directly affect people's lives. Can Xiaomi really make cars?" a Weibo user posted.