At the beginning of this year, various problems of new energy vehicles began to be frequently exposed to the public, and many people began to worry about new energy vehicles. Is 2025 the year when new energy vehicle problems break out?
- Frequent safety problems?
On April 13, a netizen broke the news: A vehicle collision occurred at the Shenyang Industrial Exhibition Hall in Liaoning. At the exhibition site, a black off-road vehicle (SUV) suddenly lost control, causing multiple vehicles to be hit and damaged.
The video shows that at the auto show, a black off-road vehicle suddenly accelerated and hit a white car after a sharp turn. Then, the off-road vehicle hit another exhibitor. Fortunately, the man reacted quickly and escaped. However, the off-road vehicle did not stop, but continued to run rampant in the exhibition hall, hitting multiple exhibited cars. Later, some netizens broke the news that the vehicle involved in the accident was suspected to be Huawei’s car brand AITO M7.
The next day, Wenjie user service released a “Statement on the M7 Pro Accident at the Liaoning Shenyang Industrial Exhibition Hall”: At 14:01 on April 13, 2025, a Wenjie M7 Pro collided at the Liaoning Shenyang Industrial Exhibition Hall, causing one person to be injured. We deeply apologize and have actively assisted in medical treatment. After examination, the injured person had minor contusions and was discharged from the hospital on the same day.
According to preliminary investigations, the accident occurred on the eve of the auto show, and the vehicle was not in exhibition mode, resulting in the vehicle being started by mistake. Because the main driver did not wear a seat belt and the steering wheel intervened at a large angle, the AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking, also known as the automatic emergency braking system) triggering conditions were not met.
Coincidentally. On March 29, the Xiaomi SU7 exploded and caused the death of three people after a collision on the highway, and no explanation has been given so far. Starting from March 31, the incident began to ferment throughout the entire network. From April 1 to 3, affected by the incident, the share price of Xiaomi Group in Hong Kong stocks fell sharply for three consecutive days, and its market value shrank by about HK$130 billion.
According to “First Financial Daily”, the latest insurance data shows that from March 31 to April 6, in the first full week after the “March 29 Xiaomi SU7 explosion accident”, Xiaomi’s auto sales were 5,000 units, and its ranking dropped by 3 places to 21st. This also set the lowest weekly sales of Xiaomi Auto in the past two months. In the past two months, Xiaomi Auto’s weekly sales have never been less than 6,000 units, and the highest was 7,800 units from March 24 to March 30.
Later, some netizens posted that Lei Jun finally showed up, looking a little haggard but still smiling. Many netizens responded after watching it, saying, “It’s normal for Mr. Lei to be worried and haggard because of the Xiaomi SU7 accident recently. I hope he can take care of his health. I really feel sorry for him.”
In addition, “Morning News” reported that on March 18, many netizens posted videos saying that a new energy vehicle in Shenzhen hit a guardrail and caught fire. Black smoke billowed at the scene, and only the frame was left, which attracted attention.
The video footage at the scene showed a black vehicle lying across the guardrail on the left side of the road. The flames had burned higher than the vehicle body. Some passengers ran down from the vehicle, and some were lying in the middle of the road with smoke coming out of their bodies. Soon, the fire engulfed the entire vehicle, leaving only the frame.
Zeekr Auto then released a statement on the traffic accident in Shenzhen, stating that, based on background data and on-site information, the vehicle was traveling at high speed when the accident occurred, and a fire broke out after continuous collisions with the metal guardrail in the middle of the elevated road. The traffic accident is subject to the investigation and identification results of the relevant departments.
However, the news that Zeekr Auto was exposed to “hitting the guardrail after turning on the smart driving” also caused heated discussions. Related videos show that on the Qingyin Expressway, a black Zeekr 7X suddenly hit the green belt to the left while driving, and then rushed straight to the guardrail on the right side of the expressway after rebounding. The front of the car was severely damaged and the front wheels were also knocked off.
On March 13, Zeekr Auto officially released a statement on the Yinchuan vehicle traffic accident, and attached a road traffic accident identification certificate. The statement pointed out that on the afternoon of the 11th, a Zeekr 7X was driving from east to west on the Qingyin Expressway when a single-vehicle traffic accident occurred. The accident did not cause any casualties, and the highway traffic police determined that the cause of the accident was improper operation by the driver.
Combining background data and on-site information feedback, the vehicle did not turn on the NZP (intelligent driving assistance) function before the accident, and only the LCC (lane centering assistance) function was turned on. Because the driver took the glasses and turned the steering wheel to the left, the LCC function was exited, and the vehicle instrument displayed text and voice reminder “You are intervening in the direction”. After that, the steering wheel continued to deviate to the left, causing the vehicle to continue to deviate from the driving, and there was no steering wheel return action during the period. In the end, the vehicle deviated from the middle lane to the leftmost lane and scraped against the guardrail, causing the accident.
Many accidents point to the intelligent driving system, but it is difficult to distinguish between human factors and the responsibility of the intelligent driving system in various accidents. Previously, a friend was forced to slow down by the system when overtaking in a vehicle with automatic emergency avoidance function.
According to the friend’s later description: “When I was about to overtake, the system may have detected that the distance to the surrounding vehicles was too close, so it automatically pressed the brakes. In fact, judging from years of driving experience, the distance was quite far, and the conditions for overtaking were fully met, but the system actively slowed down. As a driver, I felt that I had lost control of the car at that moment, which made my brain blank at the time, because I have a subconscious judgment of the vehicle’s situation when driving for many years. At the moment the system intervened, this subconscious judgment was disrupted. That moment was very dangerous. At that time, the front of my car had already changed lanes. If there was a car behind driving normally, this deceleration would cause a traffic accident. I never turned on this function again.” However, some netizens posted driving videos and said that the active avoidance function in the intelligent driving system saved many families. In the video, a mother holding a child appeared in front of the vehicle that had just entered the tunnel. Due to the change in light, the driver could not observe the pedestrians in front. At this time, the emergency avoidance function began to intervene in the vehicle, slowing down and changing lanes quickly to avoid the impending accident. 2. Car companies are facing difficulties in their own operations
Recently, a blogger shared a video of a representative of Nezha Auto’s authorized dealers nationwide, defending their rights in front of the Nezha Tongxiang factory.
In the video, the dealer said: “We are representatives of more than 20 of the more than 300 Nezha dealers nationwide. In the past six months, Nezha Auto has experienced difficulties such as not shipping cars, large-scale layoffs, business suspension, and suppliers demanding debts. But we, the authorized dealers, did not give up. We did not lay off employees, did not interrupt social security, did not issue negative reports, the stores are operating normally, taxes are still being paid, and employees’ wages are not reduced by a penny.”
“This is because we believe that the Nezha manufacturer will fulfill its promise, but from September last year to now, the manufacturer has never responded to us even once, relying entirely on rumors. It’s almost time for financing, it’s almost time to resume work, and it’s time to hold a dealer conference, but we listened, waited, and invested, and finally got deeper and deeper.”
“The most distressing thing is that many of our stores paid hundreds of millions of yuan in full according to the manufacturer’s requirements, but not a single car was shipped. Some dealers have to borrow money to buy cars. The bank is now suing its debt-collecting customers for not providing a guarantee for the payment. “Today, we came to the Nezha Tongxiang factory, not to cause trouble, we only made three demands: 1. Compensate us for our operating losses from September 2024 to date, and advance operating costs from May to July 2025. 2. All rebates and subsidies owed for unsold vehicles must be returned in one lump sum before May 11. 3. Restore the after-sales service system as soon as possible, and don’t let the more than 400,000 Nezha car owners be completely abandoned. We don’t want Nezha to fall, we just want an explanation, please ask Chairman Fang Yunzhou to respond positively.
On April 14, “Red Star News” learned from the relevant person in charge of Nezha Automobile that from the dealer level, what they said was consistent with the actual situation. Since Nezha Automobile broke out about its tight capital chain last year, the company has been seeking financing and working hard to Rescue. The situation is not so optimistic, and it is still being actively promoted.
Nezha Auto’s difficulties began in 2024. Since October 2024, Nezha Auto has frequently been involved in controversy. First, it was accused by employees of not paying wages on time, and large-scale layoffs and salary cuts, and then it was sued by suppliers. On January 3, 2025, according to Tianyancha, Hozon New Energy once again added a new equity freeze information, the amount reached 1 billion yuan. So far, according to Qichacha, Nezha Auto’s parent company Hozon New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. has been listed as a person subject to execution and restricted high consumption, with 292 judicial cases and 56 debt claims.
Recently, “New Yellow River” noticed that Shanghai Jidu Automobile Co., Ltd., an affiliated company of Jiyue Automobile, became a person subject to execution. On April 7, the company added two new execution information, the execution standard A total of 445 million yuan, involving a financial loan contract dispute case, the executing court is the Xuhui District People’s Court of Shanghai.
According to “New Yellow River”, Xia Yiping, CEO of Jiyue, has been restricted from high consumption. Jiyue’s official public account has also stopped updating, and the last message was released on March 14, 2025.
The previous “Jiyue flash crash” incident shocked the entire network. On the afternoon of December 11, 2024, Xia Yiping, CEO of Jiyue Automobile, held an internal meeting of all employees online, saying that the company would make adjustments to the difficulties encountered in its operations, but did not specify. After the meeting, Jiyue Automobile’s human resources department talked with employees from various departments and gave two options: Option 1, voluntarily resign before December 16, sign an agreement to compensate N+1, and arrive before February 15, but because there is no money, it cannot be guaranteed; Option 2: Suspend salary and stay on duty, and do not pay social security and provident fund.
The next day, employees surrounded his conference room. There were almost no signs before the incident, but after the incident, it spread like wildfire. It is rare for companies like Jiyue to suddenly “die suddenly”.
In this regard, the public account “Youlongshuo” analyzed that the myth of a 211% surge in new energy vehicle sales in 2021 has allowed countless entrepreneurs to see the “windfall”. The crazy influx of capital has trapped the industry in a “scale trap”. In order to compete for market share, Zhang Yong, the former CEO of Nezha Automobile, launched the Nezha V priced at 59,900 yuan, with a cumulative loss of 18 billion in three years. This “low price for market” strategy has led to a general gross profit margin of less than 10% in the industry, while the leading company BYD has achieved a gross profit margin of 20% through vertical integration, forming a “Matthew effect”. The ebb of policy dividends is faster than expected. In 2024, the purchase tax exemption for new energy vehicles will be halved, and local subsidies will generally shrink by 50%. The policy shift has put car companies that rely on subsidies in a desperate situation. WM Motor once achieved single-vehicle profitability with “national subsidies + local subsidies”. After the subsidy decline, it immediately fell into losses and eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2024. This “policy weaning” effect is particularly evident in third- and fourth-tier cities.
Therefore, it is not surprising that new energy vehicle companies frequently explode. - Major changes in new energy executives
According to news on April 4, Huawei’s official website and Yu Chengdong’s personal Weibo and Douyin certification information have changed. His position is currently “Executive Director, Chairman of Terminal BG”, and no longer includes “Chairman of Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU”.
Some netizens even speculated that the Xiaomi SU7 incident fermented across the Internet three days ago, and Huawei was afraid of similar incidents, so it “protected” Yu Chengdong.
However, according to an informed person who told “First Financial Daily”, Huawei has a complete internal governance structure. This is a normal management appointment, which can allow Yu Chengdong to have more energy to create high-quality products for consumers.
It is worth mentioning that in April 2024, Yu Chengdong’s position was also adjusted. At that time, Huawei issued a personnel adjustment document internally announcing that Yu Chengdong would serve as the chairman of the terminal BG and resign as the CEO of the terminal BU. The position was taken over by He Gang, the former chief operating officer of Huawei’s terminal BG.
According to the public account “Tongcheshidai”, industry insiders believe that Yu Chengdong’s certification and position changes may be related to the previous changes in Yinwang’s equity and personnel. As early as December 2024, several people familiar with the matter said that Huawei’s car BU is expected to be merged into Yinwang on January 1, 2025, and the scale will reach thousands of people. On January 16, 2024, Shenzhen Yinwang Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. was officially established. The company was originally 100% owned by Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. It is a subsidiary of Huawei dedicated to the development of the smart car industry and provides automotive intelligent systems and component solutions. It is also a carrier for Huawei’s automotive business to conduct equity cooperation with major car companies. On March 31, 2025, Shenzhen Yinwang Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. has completed the change of industrial and commercial information. Huawei’s shareholding ratio has been adjusted from 100% to 80%, and two major shareholders, Avita Technology and Seres, have been introduced, each holding 10% of the shares. At the same time, the personnel structure was also adjusted. Xu Zhijun became the chairman, Yu Chengdong and Changan Automobile Chairman Zhu Huarong served as vice-chairmen, and Bai Yi, Jin Yuzhi, Bian Honglin, and Zhang Xinghai served as directors.
In March 2025, BAIC Group also made a sudden major personnel change. According to the announcement, the board of directors of BAIC Blue Valley agreed to elect Zhang Guofu as chairman, member of the 11th Board of Directors’ Strategic Committee, member of the Nomination Committee, member of the Remuneration and Assessment Committee, and serve as the chairman of the Strategic Committee, and will perform his duties from the date of the board resolution.
At the same time, BAIC Blue Valley appointed Liu Guanqiao as manager and Qiao Yuanhua as secretary of the board of directors. Since Qiao Yuanhua has not yet obtained the training certificate for the secretary of the board of directors, Chairman Zhang Guofu will temporarily perform the duties of the secretary of the board of directors. The company’s appointment of Qiao Yuanhua will officially take effect after he obtains the relevant certificate. It is worth noting that this personnel change is less than a year after Dai Kangwei, the former chairman of BAIC Blue Valley, took office.
Regarding the frequent changes in executives in the current automotive industry, Zhang Xiang, a researcher at the Automotive Industry Innovation Research Center of the North China University of Technology, told China Business News that this is mainly related to the fierce competition in the new energy vehicle market. “The domestic automotive industry is now moving towards electric development. There are many competitors in the entire new energy vehicle market, and these competitors are also very diverse. There are both traditional car companies and new car-making forces, as well as many cross-border technology giants. This leads to extremely fierce competition in the new energy vehicle market.”
Someone once said that 2024 is the “big test year” for new energy vehicles. So far, this “big test” is still going on, and it has entered a more severe “no man’s land”. Is 2025 the year when new energy vehicle problems break out?Do you think this trend will continue?
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