Xiaomi's First Electric Cars, Over 70 Damaged in Succession Due to "Auto Parking Function Error"

SU7 Owners Around 70 Involved in Parking Accident
Xiaomi Explains "System Bug"

Chinese home appliance manufacturer and retailer Xiaomi experienced an issue with the automatic parking function in its electric vehicles released this year, resulting in damage to around 70 vehicles.

On the 22nd (local time), Chinese local media including Hongseong Newspaper reported that from the afternoon of the 14th to the early morning of the 15th, about 70 units of Xiaomi's first self-developed electric vehicle SU7 (Speed Ultra 7, Chinese name Suchi) standard version suffered rear deformation and wear due to a malfunction in the automatic parking (smart parking) function.

Xiaomi Electric Vehicle SU7. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the media, Xiaomi's automatic parking function allows the vehicle to identify the target location and park itself appropriately when the driver drives near the parking spot. However, due to the parking function error, accidents occurred where vehicles collided with parking lot pillars and other obstacles.

Some consumers were also affected by the malfunction. A Beijing driver, Mr. A, who purchased the SU7 in May this year and experienced an accident on the 14th, stated, "Before the collision, the reverse radar did not detect obstacles, and no collision warning sound was triggered," adding, "Even after the collision, the parking process did not stop, which worsened the damage."

Mr. A contacted Xiaomi's customer center but was told, "The vehicle owner must notify the insurance company." Later, through social networking services (SNS), Mr. A learned that many SU7 owners had experienced similar accidents. The 'SU7 Accident Chat Room' that Mr. A joined currently has over 70 participants.

On the 15th, Mr. A sent his vehicle for data inspection and analysis, and Xiaomi's customer center diagnosed that "a Xiaomi system bug caused the abnormality in the automatic parking function." They proposed to cover the repair costs and provide daily compensation of 1,500 Xiaomi points (150 yuan, approximately 29,000 KRW) during the repair period. Another SU7 owner affected by the parking function error received compensation of 10,000 points per day (1,000 yuan, about 190,000 KRW).

Xiaomi is a leading smartphone manufacturer in China. Since entering the electric vehicle industry in 2021, it launched its first self-developed electric vehicle series, the SU7, in March this year. The SU7 gained explosive popularity in China, receiving over 50,000 orders within 27 minutes on the day of its release, and Xiaomi set a record by producing 100,000 units within 230 days of the electric vehicle launch.