By Michael Elkins
Yesterday, Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ:LI) made a post on Weibo concerning an incident on August 1st involving one of the company’s Li ONE models.
On August 1st, a Li ONE caught fire on the Chengdu-Chongqing Expressway in Sichuan Province. Four people were burned and quickly left the vehicle.
Li Auto asserts in their post that the accident was not caused by flaws in the vehicle itself.
LI said that “When the vehicle caught fire, the vehicle data showed that the vehicle range extension system and oil circuit system, high-voltage power supply system, low-voltage power supply system, and three-electrical system (including power battery, drive motor, and motor controller) were all working normally, without any short circuit. There is no abnormality in vehicle voltage, current and fuel pressure.”
The post added, “According to the current information, we believe that the fire was not caused by the quality of the vehicle, and Li Auto will cooperate with the fire department to investigate the specific fire cause of the vehicle.”
Following an analysis of video and vehicle data, the electric vehicle company believes that such a big fire occurring within the cabin in under nine seconds was not caused by the vehicle itself. Li Auto suspects that inflammable and explosive materials inside the vehicle were ignited.
At present, the fire department has been involved in the investigation of the vehicle on fire. A final determination on the incident has not been made.