SOURCE / ECONOMY
Nio test car plunges from third floor in Shanghai, killing two
Published: Jun 23, 2022 05:43 PM
A view of the NIO House located in Shanghai in June 2018 Photo: VCG

A view of the NIO House located in Shanghai in June 2018 Photo: VCG


A test car for Chinese new-energy vehicle (NEV) giant Nio plunged from the third floor of a parking lot in Shanghai on Wednesday afternoon, killing two car testers inside it, the company confirmed on Thursday on Weibo. 

One of the two people was an employee of Nio, while the other was an employee of Nio's business partner, the company said. 

Nio said in the statement that the company is very sad about the accident, and has set up a special group to help the two people's family members deal with the aftermath. 

Nio made the statement after a report published by thepaper.cn disclosed details of the accident. According to the report, the accident happened on Wednesday afternoon. The two people were rushed to hospital for emergency treatment but did not survive.

Judging from leaked on-site photos, the vehicle involved is suspected to be a test vehicle, with the top of the vehicle landing first, the roof sunken, and the body is surrounded by smashed white cement walls, according to nbd.com.cn.

Shanghai Securities News reported that the crashed car is a model ET5, which has not yet been delivered. 

As one of new energy vehicle pioneer makers, Nio has delivered a total of four models, ES8, ES6, EC6, and ET7. Data showed the company had delivered a total of 204,900 vehicles as of the end of May, including 25,768 units delivered in the first quarter of 2022, a year-on-year increase of 37.6 percent.

The company said its net loss narrowed to 1.8 billion yuan ($268 million) in the first quarter this year from 4.9 billion yuan a year ago. Nio forecasted deliveries of between 23,000 to 25,000 vehicles in the quarter ending June 30, down from 25,768 in the first quarter, according to Reuters.

Nio said that based on analysis of the site conditions, it was purely an accident and was not caused by a car malfunction.