XPeng cooperating with probe after fatal car crash

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer XPeng said on Thursday that it's cooperating with related departments in an investigation into a fatal car crash caused by a XPeng P7 vehicle model with its driver assistance system on.

News and online sources have reported on the car accident in Ningbo City of neighboring Zhejiang Province on Wednesday, which involved an XPeng P7 that smashed into a broken-down vehicle parked in front of it on the lane.

The accident caused the death of the person standing at the end of the car in front.

XPeng Motors responded on Thursday, saying that the traffic police department has already begun investigating the accident, and officials from the local XPeng store immediately rushed to the scene to assist in handling the case.

The company will fully cooperate with relevant departments in conducting the investigation and stay on top of the follow-up. It will also assist the customer to deal with related matters.

In addition, the XPeng official expressed grief and regret at the loss of life in the accident.

Jiemian News quoted a responsible company official as saying that since the accident had caused casualties, the first principle was to pacify the victims, and the second is to cooperate fully with the investigation in line with the authorities' requirements.

It is worth noting that the crash happened when the P7 driver was using the Lane Centering Control, a driver assistance function of XPeng, with the speed set at a highway limit of 80 kilometers per hour.

According to the P7 driver, the warning didn't work before the crash, adding that he was also distracted at the time.

XPeng's user manual warns several times that the LCC is a driver assistance function, not a fully self-driving attribute, and that the driver still needs to keep his hands on the steering wheel even after the LCC function is activated, and should take over the steering wheel when necessary.