XPeng Responds to Recent Accident: P7’s Faulty Airbags
The topic of “Xpeng P7 model’s airbags didn’t open in the accident” appeared on Twitter-like platform Weibo’s top trending topics on July 2. According to the car owner, the accident occurred on the morning of June 20. During a heavy rainfall and with the roads inundated with water, the driver tried to apply the vehicle’s brakes causing the vehicle to go into a skid and crash into the guardrails. The owner said that when the accident happened, none of the four airbags in the car popped up, therefore questioning the safety of the vehicle.
In response, XPeng Motors replied to domestic media that, “We attach great importance to the problems reflected by the owner. After an on-site investigation and real vehicle detection, we found that when driving in rainy days, the vehicle rotated after colliding with the road guardrails, resulting in the front end of the vehicle being damaged by the force of the impact while the passenger compartment remained intact. The vehicle’s side rail was not obviously damaged when viewed from the outside, and the front bumper was still intact. In addition, the vehicle’s front face didn’t receive strong impact, though it was broken and fell under its own weight. It is preliminarily judged that the impact force did not meet the requirements to pop up the airbags. “
The company explained that the airbags’ expansion depends on the collision intensity collected by the vehicle’s sensor when an accident occurs. When the impact force of collision is absorbed or dispersed throughout the vehicle body, the airbags may not open. Therefore, whether the airbags open or not cannot be judged by the degree of damage degree to the vehicle itself.
The company also said, “After the owner Mr. Yang agreed to overhaul the vehicle, we are willing to provide a more detailed test report from the airbag supplier, and we are willing to cooperate with customers to find a qualified third-party testing agency to test the airbag safety system of their vehicles. We’ll try to meet all reasonable demands of our customers.”
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In addition, the previously mentioned report also showed that after the accident, the vehicle’s four doors could not be opened, and finally the owner climbed out from the trunk. In response, the company replied, “After its verification of the driving data, the door beside the driver’s seat was unlocked and opened after the accident, and the driver’s seat was empty while the trunk was not opened in the accident. According to our store outlet’s real vehicle detection, the front and rear four doors could be opened, although the front double doors and the fender were slightly interfered with due to the impact. Netizens could have rational discussions, and we will reserve the right to trace false information according to law. “
The P7 model is the second mass production model of XPeng Motors and is positioned as a long-range version of a smart coupe. It was officially launched in April 2020 and priced at 240,000 yuan ($35.856 thousand) and up.
The P7 is also the company’s main model at present. In June, XPeng Motors delivered a total of 15,000 units, of which 8,045 P7 models were delivered, accounting for more than half of the company’s deliveries.
