Huawei’s Wenjie M7 electric SUV collided with a water-sprinkling truck on the expressway in Xià County, under Yuncheng City in Shanxi Province on April 26. The collision caused the M7 to burst into flames, resulting in the deaths of all three occupants, including a two-year-old child.
Family members have raised several questions, including whether flame-retardant materials and thermal runaway protection were effective, whether the water truck was occupying the fast lane, and whether there were road warning signs in place. They are demanding accountability.
On April 28, Wenjie customer service responded that a special team had been formed to follow up and verify the incident and would cooperate with the traffic management department in the investigation.
According to family members, on the afternoon of April 26, their brother was driving the Huawei Wenjie M7 when it rear-ended the water truck on the expressway in Xià County. Their brother, husband, and two-year-old son died in the accident, with an explosion occurring in the rear of the vehicle, resulting in burns to their brother and son.
Videos circulated online show the M7 colliding with a vehicle labeled “Shanxi Traffic Control,” with the M7’s front catching fire and subsequently engulfed in flames. It is worth noting that after the accident, the concealed door handles of the M7 did not appear to eject. Several individuals at the scene attempted to break the windows to rescue the trapped occupants.
The family stated that the vehicle their brother purchased was the Huawei Wenjie M7 Plus rear-wheel-drive version, 5-seater (24 models), in the color Obsidian Black, purchased in January of this year.
The family has raised a series of questions, including whether the maintenance vehicle (water truck) was occupying the fast lane, whether there were road warning signs at the time, and whether the maintenance personnel were capable of timely rescue. They are also questioning why the advertised AEB automatic emergency braking and GAEB automatic emergency braking for irregular obstacles, as well as flame-retardant materials and thermal runaway protection, did not function, and why the airbags did not provide protection.
According to “Finance and Economics Network Technology,” on April 28, Wenjie issued a statement saying they would provide all possible support to the family and clarified that the vehicle involved in the accident was the entry-level non-smart driving version, which did not come equipped with Huawei’s advanced intelligent driving assistance system but rather used the Bosch solution.
The statement pointed out that the vehicle involved was the entry-level non-smart driving version, not equipped with Huawei’s advanced intelligent driving assistance system, but using the Bosch solution. The working range of Bosch’s AEB is between 4-85 km/h, while the collision occurred at a speed of 115 km/h, far exceeding the trigger range of Bosch’s AEB.
At the same time, the characteristics of the accident vehicle’s power battery pack were normal, indicating that there was no battery self-ignition. The specific cause of the fire needs to await the investigation results from the traffic police department. At the time of the accident, the safety airbags of the accident vehicle opened normally, and there was no situation where the safety airbags failed to function.
On April 28, AITO Wenjie responded on its official Weibo account, expressing deep sorrow for the casualties in the accident. According to the national platform data access management regulations, it was learned that the vehicle was traveling at 115 km/h at the time of the accident, and the safety airbags opened normally, and the characteristics of the power battery pack were normal.
Wenjie stated that they are actively cooperating with the local traffic police department in conducting an accident investigation, providing all necessary data to determine the cause of the accident, and offering all possible support to the family. The specific investigation results are subject to subsequent notifications from the traffic police department.