Initial details on fiery crash involving BYD e6 that killed 3

Three passengers in a BYD e6 taxicab, including the driver, were killed in an accident in Shenzhen on 26 May.

BYD e6 in flames following crash. Click to enlarge.

In its microblog on weibo.com, Shenzhen traffic police say the accident happened at about 3:08 in the early morning on Binhai Dadao (Beach Boulevard) near the city’s downtown. A drunk driver crashed a high-speed Nissan GT-R into a BYD e6, and then collided with another, gasoline taxicab. The e6 hit a tree before bursting into flames. The GR-R was traveling at no less than 180km/h [112 mph], an eyewitness told Guangzhou TV reporting on the crash. The driver and two female passengers on the pure-electric car apparently never had a chance to get out. A person in the other taxi suffered minor injuries. The drunk driver ran away from the scene, but turned himself in to the police later that morning, at about 10.

News about the accident has spread quickly as speculation mounts over the cause of the EV fire and its possible effects on BYD and the industry. It evokes the burning of a Zotye EV, which also served as a taxicab (no one was injured in that case)...While the e6 was obviously not at fault, people want to know why an EV, without a gas tank, can burn to ashes in minutes. Many of them still remember the words of Wang Chuanfu, Chairman of BYD: “Batteries from BYD would not explode even if you throw them into a fire.”

About 400 e6s are in service in Shenzhen as taxis; the city plans to grow the fleet to 800 units this year. BYD has not yet issued a statement about the crash.