Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) is back in the spotlight again after a video showing a moving Li ONE suddenly losing control went viral among Chinese Internet users.
The video shows a Li ONE sinking hard and losing the support of its left front wheel during a high-speed turn, eventually crashing into a moving motorcycle on the side of the road. Rumors of the vehicle's broken axle then spread widely.
The EV maker said Thursday that the accident occurred at 14:21 on January 30, 2021, when the vehicle collided with a street light and struck a motorcycle on the road. The left side of the vehicle was damaged and the suspension system was intact and did not appear to be damaged or broken.
In response to some content distributors' subjective assumptions about the accident, Li Auto expressed strong condemnation, adding that it has taken the necessary legal measures to defend its rights and reserved the right to take legal action against the relevant publisher.
The video of the accident shows a Li ONE overtaking a car from the left side while the car is in motion. After reaching an uphill section, the Li ONE lost control during a high-speed turn and crashed into a motorcycle on the side of the road.
The owner of the car then clarified that it was his driving fault and the car lost control after hitting the pole. The axle was not broken and the motorcyclist who was hit was fine.
However, because the Li ONE was previously recalled due to suspension issues, some auto bloggers suspect that the accident was caused by the loss of the vehicle's left front wheel alignment support function.
On November 1, 2020, Li Auto announced that it would "upgrade" the front suspension lower arms with higher ball pin release for Li ONE vehicles manufactured on or before June 1, 2020, to reduce the probability of the front suspension lower arm ball release for users in a crash.
However, this was criticized by industry insiders who felt that this action should be defined as a "recall" rather than an "upgrade".
Li Auto then said it accepted the criticism and apologized to owners, the media and the industry for its previous incorrect and unreasonable actions.
Li Auto then announced a recall of 10,469 Li ONE electric vehicles manufactured from November 14, 2019 to June 1, 2020.
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(Source: Li Auto)
