Fatal Xiaomi SU7 crash exposed door-handle design flaw that trapped driver as the vehicle caught fire
Oct 13, 2025A judicial appraisal report confirmed that a low-voltage system failure after an October 13, 2025 collision in Chengdu (driver traveling at 167 km/h) disabled the Xiaomi SU7's electronic door releases, trapping 31-year-old driver Deng inside as the vehicle caught fire; the SU7 had no exterior mechanical backup door handle, with the only manual release hidden inside a door storage compartment inaccessible to rescuers. Chinese regulators (MIIT) approved new mandatory standards on January 28, 2026 requiring mechanical, power-failure-resistant exterior door handles on all vehicles, phased in for new models from January 2027 and existing models from January 2029. Xiaomi founder Lei Jun announced on February 10, 2026 that production of the first-generation SU7 had ended and a compliant updated model would ship in Q4 2026, but the company did not recall the roughly 370,000 first-generation SU7 vehicles already on the road despite public calls from Chinese financial outlet Yicai to do so.