Two people die in electric car test in Shanghai

Two people died this week when a Nio electric car fell to the ground on the third floor of a parking lot in Shanghai.

A Nio team member and an employee of a partner company died in the accident, the Chinese automaker said in a statement on Thursday.

Both were inside the test vehicle, which crashed Wednesday afternoon at Shanghai Innovation Park, Nio said in a Weibo post. The company’s headquarters are located inside the industrial park.

He added that “according to the analysis of the situation at the scene, we can preliminarily confirm that it is an accident (not for reasons related to the vehicle)”.
Nio also said it is cooperating with a police investigation into the cause of the accident.

The company did not respond to a request for additional comment from CNN Business .

Nio’s statement about the accident attracted at least 78 million views on Weibo and more than 1,700 discussion posts. Videos circulating online show rescue workers in orange suits trying to save passengers in the car, which appears to be badly damaged.

Founded by Chinese entrepreneur William Li in 2014, Nio has become one of the fastest-growing electric car startups in China and one of several local rivals to Elon Musk’s Tesla.

Last year, it delivered 91,429 vehicles, up 109% from 2020, according to the company. In the first five months of this year, 37,866 units were delivered, an increase of 12% over the same period last year.

Tesla was the top seller of pure EVs in China until April, when Covid lockdowns in Shanghai affected its sales and supply chains. China’s BYD, backed by Warren Buffett, overtook Tesla that month.

Nio listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in 2018.