Xiaomi’s stock fell over 5% after the fatal accident involving its SU7, as founder Lei Jun pledged his full cooperation with the investigation
A fiery crash involving Xiaomi Corp.’s (1810.HK) SU7 electric vehicle (EV) left three university students dead and drew widespread public concern, sparking a selloff in the company’s shares. Xiaomi Auto and company founder Lei Jun issued statements late on April 1 about the accident, pledging their full cooperation with the investigation and vowing not to evade responsibility, according to Reuters.
Xiaomi’s shares lost 5.49% to close at HK$46.50 on Tuesday as news of the accident circulated, wiping out nearly HK$70 billion ($8.99 billion) in market value.
The accident happened on March 29 and involved a standard version of the SU7 that crashed into a concrete barrier in a road construction zone before bursting into flames. The three victims, all university students from the Central Chinese city of Wuhan, were reportedly traveling to adjacent Anhui province to take an exam.
In its statement, Xiaomi said the vehicle was operating in Navigate on Autopilot (NOA) mode and traveling at a speed of 116 kph (72 mph) prior to the crash. The car encountered an obstacle due to a lane shift in a construction zone, prompting the system to issue a warning. The driver took control and began to decelerate, but the car still crashed into a concrete pillar while traveling about 97 kph.
Xiaomi said the cause of the fire is believed to be severe system damage resulting from the collision, rather than spontaneous combustion. The vehicle remains in police possession as the investigation continues, meaning the company has not yet been able to access it and determine whether issues such as locked doors contributed to the fatalities.
Driver assistance system limitations
Xiaomi also responded to questions about its driver-assistance system that may have played a role in the accident. The SU7 is equipped with Forward Collision Warning (FCW) and Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), but those features do not detect non-vehicle objects such as traffic cones, water barriers or concrete blocks. Xiaomi emphasized that NOA is classified as Level 2 (L2) driver assistance, a relatively low autonomous driving level that requires a human driver to maintain full control and attention at all times.
Amid public concern that Xiaomi failed to promptly contact the victims’ families, the company said it had attempted to arrange a police-supervised meeting on April 1 and was still awaiting confirmation. Lei Jun also expressed his condolences in a posting that evening on his social media account, and reiterated that Xiaomi would not evade responsibility and would continue cooperating fully with authorities.
Xiaomi launched the SU7, its first electric vehicle, in March 2024, and delivered over 200,000 units through the end of February this year. According to its annual report, the company’s EV revenue reached 32.1 billion yuan ($4.42 billion) last year, contributing to a 35% year-on-year increase in total revenue to 365.9 billion yuan, prompting Lei Jun to call the report the company’s “strongest financial report ever.”
Xiaomi’s stock price had surged more than 180% over the past year but is now down over 20% from its record high of HK$59.45 set on March 19.