Two months after the fiery crash on May 26, which killed three passengers in a BYD e6 taxi (see our article Three BYD e6 Passengers Killed in Fiery Crash), investigators revealed their findings at a press conference held in Shenzhen on August 3. A team of 13 experts, organized by Shenzhen Academy of Metrology and Quality Inspection, concluded that "the BYD e6 suffered from no design flaws affecting vehicle safety." On the key question–how safe the EV’s batteries are, they made this curious statement:

"The BYD e6 taxi, listed on the state’s Bulletin of New Auto Products, passed government-required tests on vehicle and battery safety and met related national standards. In the accident, the batteries/battery-cells providing driving power did not explode. 72 batteries (or 75% of the total of 96 batteries in the pack) did not caught fire. The battery system had a safe and rational design. The whole vehicle suffered from no flaws in safety design."

The cause of the massive fire engulfing the e6 was traced to short circuits in the battery pack and wiring, which became highly deformed under strong impact.

The report also claimed that the crash happened under extremely rare circumstances, as the Nissan GT-R hit the e6 at 183km/h, and the three passengers in the e6 died from the strong impact of the crash, implying that mechanical damage rather than the fire was the direct cause of their deaths.

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