The M7 caught fire and killed three people, putting Huawei in the whirlpool of public opinion
On April 26, 2024, a harrowing car accident occurred on the Yuncheng Expressway in Shanxi Province. A Wenjie M7 smart electric vehicle was driving at a high speed of 115 kilometers per hour when it suddenly rear-ended a low-speed road maintenance vehicle, and the vehicle caught fire after a violent collision. The family of three in the car did not survive, and the driver, her husband and 2-year-old child were all killed, and the scene was shocking.
This tragedy has undoubtedly brought unbearable suffering to the families of the victims. The driver's wife, "Mu Mu", posted on social media questioning multiple details of the accident. She began by questioning whether road maintenance vehicles have the right to drive at low speeds on highways and occupy lanes, which is a violation of traffic rules. She questioned the safety performance of the M7 smart electric vehicle, and why passive safety features such as the automatic emergency braking system (AEB) and airbags failed to play a role in this high-speed rear-end collision accident to protect the lives of occupants. She couldn't understand why, after a violent collision, the car door could not be opened, and rescuers had to break the window to save the rescue.
Mu Mu's questioning immediately sparked heated discussions on the Internet. Many netizens also joined the discussion and expressed doubts about the safety performance of the M7. Some people believe that as a new energy intelligent electric vehicle, the M7 should be equipped with industry-leading active and passive safety systems, which should be able to protect the lives of occupants to the greatest extent in this high-speed rear-end collision situation. However, this does not seem to be the case, which makes one wonder whether the M7 has safety performance defects.
Other netizens believe that this is a tragedy that should not have happened anyway. They called on Huawei, as the manufacturer of the M7, to face up to this serious safety incident, actively cooperate with the investigation of the accident, and explain and apologize to the families of the victims. Some netizens even linked the accident to Huawei's intelligent driving technology, questioning whether Huawei has shortcomings in the field of intelligent driving.
In the face of such strong public pressure, Huawei set up a special team to intervene in the investigation. On May 6, Huawei Wenjie officially issued a statement to respond to online questions one by one. The statement pointed out that according to the on-site investigation, the accident was caused by the driver who failed to spot the maintenance vehicle driving at low speed in front of him in time when driving at high speed, and the rear-end collision occurred. The AEB automatic emergency braking system is not designed to be triggered at high speeds of 115 km/h, for safety reasons, and to avoid the danger of emergency braking at high speeds.
The statement also explained that despite the violent collision, the airbag system of the M7 was working normally, providing some protection for the occupants. As for the reason why the door could not be opened, it was due to the damage to the electrical circuit in a violent collision, which caused the door to not unlock properly. Rescuers had to break through windows, which was forced to be used in an emergency.
In response to questions about whether the power battery caught fire, Huawei's statement pointed out that according to the on-site investigation, the fire was not caused by the spontaneous combustion of the power battery, but was caused by a short circuit in the internal wiring harness of the engine compartment in a violent collision. The statement also said that Huawei's Wenjie team has rushed to the scene to cooperate with the traffic police department to fully investigate the accident, and will continue to work hard to find out the truth and restore the accident.
As soon as the statement was released, it immediately sparked a heated discussion online. Many netizens believe that Huawei's explanation of the cause of the accident in the statement has been relatively objective and comprehensive, and has not avoided the existing problems. For example, admitting that the AEB system cannot be triggered at high speeds, and that the door cannot be opened due to a damaged circuit, these are reasonable explanations.
However, many netizens expressed dissatisfaction with the statement, believing that it lacked empathy, was too rational and technical, and ignored the pain and anger of the victims' families. Some netizens bluntly said that as a technology company, Huawei Wenjie was too indifferent and bureaucratic in this accident, lacking humane care.
Some netizens believe that this is a tragedy that should not happen anyway, and a statement alone is far from enough. They called on Huawei to face up to this serious safety incident, take the initiative to conduct a deep review, and sincerely apologize to the families of the victims, instead of blindly exonerating themselves.
The tragedy of the M7 rear-end collision raised questions about the safety performance of new energy vehicles, and also plunged Huawei into the whirlpool of public relations crisis. As a technology company, Huawei's performance in this accident gave the impression of being too rational, bureaucratic and indifferent, lacking human care.
From another point of view, Huawei has indeed made due efforts in this accident. Setting up a special team to intervene in the investigation, cooperating with the traffic police department to restore the truth of the accident, and issuing a statement in response to doubts are all things that should be done. It's just that in terms of the way it is handled, it may still be too blunt and bureaucratic.
Some senior auto commentators believe that whether it is a traditional fuel vehicle or a new energy electric vehicle, after a serious safety accident, car companies should take the initiative to make a deep reflection and review with the greatest sincerity and empathy, and sincerely apologize to the families of the victims. No car can be 100% safe, and a serious accident means unforeseen risks.
Car companies should face this risk with the utmost sincerity and empathy, and should not stick too much to corporate image and technical reasons, which can easily give people the impression of indifference and selfishness. Some commentators have also pointed out that in this accident, Huawei may also have mishandled the crisis public relations problem, and lacked a keen sense of smell and prediction of public opinion.