Recently, another safety accident involving the electric vehicle giant BYD, which is heavily supported by the Chinese Communist Party, has attracted public attention.
According to reports from Red Star News and Beijing Business Daily, on May 13, a woman named Deng from Xinyu City, Jiangxi Province, posted a video on social media claiming that her father, who had purchased a BYD car in April for online car-hailing services, was injured and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage due to an electrical leakage caused by the main driver during a recent passenger drop-off.
In the video, recorded on May 4 at 5:32 pm, a man suddenly felt unwell while driving and said to the passenger in the co-driver’s seat, “Battery is running out.” After stopping the car, he got out and shouted, “Help, my car’s battery is running out.” When the ambulance arrived, Deng’s father was already foaming at the mouth.
Deng mentioned that her father’s back was covered in blisters from the electrical shock, and she provided two photos showing injuries on his shoulder while lying in a hospital bed.
BYD’s relevant person in charge stated that there were no abnormalities in the electrical leakage monitoring, preliminarily ruling out that the car’s electrical leakage caused the owner’s illness.
However, Deng’s family believes that her father’s sudden cerebral hemorrhage is related to the electrical shock in the car. After unsuccessful negotiations with the local BYD 4S store, Deng’s daughter posted a video on her personal social platform seeking help.
Currently, both parties in the above electric vehicle “electrical leakage” incident have conflicting statements.
According to financial reports, BYD’s net profit and revenue in the first quarter of this year decreased significantly compared to the previous quarter, with a net profit decline of over 47%. BYD’s revenue growth has slowed to the lowest level in nearly four years.
It is worth noting that China has seen a series of recent safety accidents and related rights protection incidents involving electric vehicles.
On May 14, according to a report from China News Network, a NIO new energy vehicle suddenly caught fire and exploded in a residential area in Tianjin. Surveillance video showed the rapid spread of the fire, damaging several vehicles nearby, causing varying degrees of damage. Witnesses stated that the car was parked normally and not charging.
According to information provided by NIO, the surveillance video showed smoke emerging from the driver’s side during the fire incident, followed by flames rapidly spreading to the vehicle’s roof.
NIO claimed that after the fire incident, until the data was interrupted, the signals from multiple systems of the vehicle were all showing as “normal.”
Interface News believes that safety has always been regarded as a priority in the automotive industry by consumers, investors, and regulatory authorities. In the electric vehicle industry, vehicle fire incidents have been particularly concerning regardless of the cause.
It is worth noting that at the initial listing of NIO S, the company promoted its fire control technology, but public data shows that since its listing, NIO S has experienced at least two fire incidents in February and August 2023.
Furthermore, according to quality monitoring data, NIO S has been previously complained about by car owners for issues including audio system failures, abnormal noises in the car, and brake problems.