Beijing Citizens Complain About Xiaomi’s Road Tests, Citing “Public Safety Hazards”

Recently in Beijing, citizens have complained that Xiaomi‘s car road tests may endanger public safety, per Chinese media Yicai.

Beijing citizen Liu Feng said that on the road in front of a middle school in Beijing’s Changping District, there are at least three test cars conducting road tests almost every day. When the school day is over and there are many people, the drivers park the vehicles at the school gate or on the road to the south side of the school. When there are fewer people, the drivers start road testing again. The test content includes accelerating or reversing, and sometimes the drivers will place roadblocks on public roads and drive in the opposite direction.

The surrounding area of this region is a densely populated residential area with nearly ten thousand residents. “Xiaomi‘s tests at the entrance of the community and the school area clearly endanger public safety”, argued local residents. Liu Feng said he had contacted relevant authorities to complain, but the response was that the vehicles had no license plates or were fully wrapped and could not be penalized.

“Since the second half of last year, Xiaomi cars have started road testing, and it is still ongoing. From Xiaomi Smart Industrial Park along Qiliqu South Road and then northwards, Xiaomi passes two schools during road testing, and there are also many residential areas nearby.” Liu Feng added that after Beijing News Radio broadcasted this news on May 18, Xiaomi cars have recently not been tested on this road section, but have switched to another route for road testing, and there are still Xiaomi SU7 products parked near the school gate.

Indeed, near the Xiaomi Smart Industrial Park, there are Xiaomi SU7s without license plates conducting urban road tests. In addition, there are vehicles wrapped in car covers being tested, and the vehicles often exhibit behaviors that are contrary to normal driving, such as sudden acceleration, which worries local residents about potential safety hazards, including reverse driving tests and obstacle tests.

Not long ago, Lei Jun, Chairman of Xiaomi Group, revealed that Xiaomi SU7 is still being tested after delivery. He stated: “SU7 is still being tested, and we hope to run this batch of cars to 150,000 or 200,000 kilometers, run the entire life cycle, see if there are any problems, and all tests may run 11 million kilometers.” Lei Jun said that no company in the past had invested in such large-scale testing.

SEE ALSO: XPeng Motors’ Sub-Brand MONA First Car Rear Spy Photos Exposed