Locked doors trapped driver in fatal 2025 Xiaomi Corp crash: Caixin

The smartphone maker turned EV producer has been involved in at least two crashes in which people died after becoming trapped in burning Xiaomi vehicles.

The door handles of a bestselling Xiaomi Corp. electric vehicle failed and trapped its driver in an inferno during a fatal 2025 crash, Caixin reported, a development likely to intensify pressure for China to phase out such designs.

File photo: A person tries the electric sedan SU7 displayed at a Xiaomi store in Beijing, China (REUTERS)

The SU7 sedan, driven by a 31-year-old man surnamed Deng, crashed into another car before striking a planted median in the southwest city of Chengdu last October, Caixin said Wednesday, citing official findings. The impact damaged the low-voltage system that powered the door handles, rendering them inoperable, it said.The doors lacked an exterior mechanical emergency release, according to a local forensic laboratory report cited by Caixin.

A police report said Deng died in the fire that ignited after the EV crashed, the report said, adding that he was suspected of drunk driving and was traveling at 167 kilometers (104 miles) an hour at the time. While authorities found him fully responsible for the crash, a lawyer for his family argued the cause of death still requires investigation, Caixin said. The family has asked authorities for a full probe into the vehicle, the outlet reported.

The smartphone maker turned EV producer has been involved in at least two high-profile crashes in which people died after becoming trapped in burning Xiaomi vehicles. The incidents have intensified debate over the safety of flush, electrically operated door handles popularized by Tesla Inc. and accelerated Chinese regulators’ efforts to ban them.

The country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued new safety standards in January requiring mechanical releases on both the interior and exterior door handles, along with an exterior recess for gripping — effectively banning concealed handles from 2027.

In the US, a Bloomberg News investigation uncovered incidents in which people were injured or killed after being unable to open doors when Teslas lost power, particularly following crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration subsequently opened a defect probe into certain Tesla Model Y door handles.

Social media videos of the Chengdu crash showed bystanders trying to rescue Deng but unable to open the doors. A man at the scene surnamed Yuan told Caixin that several people attempted to open a door and one smashed a window. When he reached inside, the interior handle also failed, he said. The SU7’s mechanical release is located in a storage compartment near the bottom of the door, and opening it from outside requires extending an entire arm into the vehicle, according to Caixin.

Road accident reports and forensic findings usually aren’t accessible to the public in China. Caixin’s account offered a rare look at official findings that indicated failed electrically operated door handles, which trapped the driver in a burning vehicle, may have contributed to his death.

Production of the first-generation Xiaomi SU7 has ended, Xiaomi said this month. A new version of the sedan will launch in 2026 featuring door handles that will “comply with the new national standards,” according to the company.