Locked doors trapped driver in fatal Xiaomi car crash, investigation shows

BEIJING – The door handles of a bestselling Xiaomi electric vehicle failed and trapped its driver in an inferno

during a fatal 2025 crash

, the investigative news magazine Caixin has reported, a development likely to intensify pressure for China to phase out such designs.

The SU7 sedan, driven by a 31-year-old man surnamed Deng, crashed into another car before striking a planted median in the south-west city of Chengdu last October, Caixin reported on Feb 25, citing official findings.

The impact damaged the low-voltage system that powered the door handles, rendering them inoperable, it said.

The doors lacked an exterior mechanical emergency release, according to a local forensic laboratory report cited by Caixin.

A police report said Mr Deng died in the fire that ignited after the EV crashed, the report said, adding that he was suspected of drink driving and was traveling at 167kmh at the time.

While the authorities found him fully responsible for the crash, a lawyer for his family argued the cause of death still requires investigation, Caixin said.

The family has asked the authorities for a full probe into the vehicle, the outlet reported.

Hidden door handles

The smartphone maker turned EV producer has been involved in at least two high-profile crashes in which people died after becoming trapped in burning Xiaomi vehicles.

The incidents have intensified debate over the safety of flush, electrically operated door handles popularised by Tesla and accelerated Chinese regulators’ efforts to ban them.

The country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued new safety standards in January requiring mechanical releases on both the interior and exterior door handles, along with an exterior recess for gripping,

effectively banning concealed handles

from 2027.

In the United States, a Bloomberg News investigation uncovered incidents in which people were injured or killed after being unable to open doors when Teslas lost power, particularly following crashes.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration subsequently opened a defect probe into certain Tesla Model Y door handles.

Social media videos of the Chengdu crash showed bystanders trying to rescue Mr Deng but unable to open the doors.

A man at the scene surnamed Yuan told Caixin several people attempted to open a door and one smashed a window. When he reached inside, the interior handle also failed, he said.

The SU7’s mechanical release is located in a storage compartment near the bottom of the door, and opening it from outside requires extending an entire arm into the vehicle, according to Caixin.

Road accident reports and forensic findings usually are not accessible to the public in China. Caixin’s account offered a rare look at official findings that indicated failed electrically operated door handles, which trapped the driver in a burning vehicle, may have contributed to his death.

Production of the first-generation Xiaomi SU7 has ended, Xiaomi said in February. A new version of the sedan will launch in 2026 featuring door handles that will “comply with the new national standards”, according to the company. BLOOMBERG