Chinese EV Maker Xiaomi Creates New Safety Body after Fatal Fiery Crashes

Chinese electric vehicle maker Xiaomi XIACF -0.78% ▼ is setting up a new safety body following a spate of fatal accidents.

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New Safety Advisers Team

The group, which is proving a strong challenger to Elon Musk’s Tesla TSLA -1.39% ▼ in its domestic market, said it is creating a committee of advisers to assess the safety of its vehicles.

Hou Jinglei, head of Xiaomi’s EV safety department, said that it plans to hold regular meetings with car owners, media and experts to hear their suggestions about the safety of its vehicles. The first of these sessions will take place in the first half of this year.

The car maker already has a safety team of over 3,000 people and an internal investigation centre to review accidents.

It’s been busy in recent months including a fatal crash in October involving a Xiaomi SU7 sedan. In that incident the car’s doors became inoperable due to a power outage after a collision with another vehicle and the driver, according to forensic reports, was burned to death.

An earlier crash involving an SU7 travelling in driving assistance mode and in which three people were killed remains under investigation.

Door Handle Hazards

According to Reuters, Chinese news provider Yicai, has urged Xiaomi to recall all first-generation SU7s to “completely eliminate door handle hazards.”

Xiaomi issued a software update for more than 115,000 SU7s over assisted driving issues in September. The company has discontinued production of the first-generation SU7 and is set to launch in April an upgraded version of its best-selling sedan with a backup power supply for the doors. Deliveries of the SU7, a rival to Tesla’s Model 3, had exceeded 381,000 vehicles as of February.

It is not the only EV maker to have issues with accidents.

Last December, Bloomberg reported that as part of an investigation into the risk of electric door handles, it found at least 15 deaths in a dozen incidents over the last 10 years where the occupants or rescuers were unable to open the doors of a Tesla vehicle that had crashed and ignited.

Is XIACF a Good Stock to Buy Now?

On TipRanks, XIACF has a Strong Buy consensus based on 8 Buy and 2 Hold ratings. Its highest price target is $7.93. XIACF stock’s consensus price target is $6.41, implying a 45.02% upside.

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