Chinese EV maker Xiaomi said it would cooperate with a police investigation into a fatal crash involving one of its cars which had been in autonomous mode just before the accident.
Three college students died on Saturday night after their Xiaomi SU7 hit a concrete barrier on a section of the Dezhou-Shangrao Expressway in eastern Anhui province.
Before the crash, the vehicle was in Xiaomi鈥檚 Navigate On Autopilot (NAO) assisted driving mode, traveling at 116 kilometres per hour (72 miles per hour), according to a company statement posted online.
While travelling on a highway section with roadworks, the vehicle detected an obstacle ahead, issued a warning, and handed control to the driver, Xiaomi said. But seconds later, the vehicle hit a barrier at around 97km/h.
Footage posted online showed a car in flames on the highway and later the burned-out wreckage.
Xiaomi founder Lei Jun said in a social media post late Tuesday that he was 鈥榟eavy-hearted鈥� and that his company would 鈥榗ontinue to cooperate with the police investigation鈥�.
Since the crash, many online have questioned Xiaomi鈥檚 assisted driving functions, why the car caught fire, and whether the doors could be opened in an emergency.
On the X-like Weibo, an account identified by the platform and local media as the driver鈥檚 mother accused Xiaomi of failing to contact her and 鈥榥ot taking the lives of three kids seriously鈥�.
鈥楢s family members, we have many questions. Why did the vehicle catch fire after hitting the barrier?... We just want an explanation,鈥� the woman wrote.聽
