Controversies

Aito M7 Highway Rear-End Crash and Fire Kills 3; Dispute Over AEB Not Triggering and Doors Being Hard to Open

On April 26, 2024, an Aito New M7 Plus rear-ended a maintenance work vehicle at about 115 km/h on a highway in Yuncheng, Shanxi, and caught fire, killing all three people in the car. Public opinion questioned why AEB did not trigger, why the doors could not be opened, and whether the battery self-ignited; Aito responded that the vehicle was not equipped with Huawei's advanced intelligent driving, that the speed exceeded the AEB operating range (4–85 km/h), that the airbags deployed normally and the battery pack did not self-ignite, and that the fire was caused by a wiring harness short circuit after the collision. The incident triggered broad discussion of smart-car safety advertising and hidden door handles; Seres subsequently reported 'black PR' rumors to police multiple times.