Ideal Automobile and China Automotive Research Respond to Crash Test Controversy
Tech news, August 4th. Ideal Automobile and China Automotive Research released statements yesterday evening regarding the controversy surrounding "Ideal i8's crash test with heavy truck."
Ideal Automobile mentioned in their statement "Explanatory Notes on Ideal i8's Safety Performance Crash Test" that this test was designed to simulate real-world road conditions, and the test results should not be interpreted as a judgment of other brands' products.
The company stated that the purpose of the test was to verify and improve the passive safety performance of Ideal i8, rather than evaluating the quality of another brand's product. The test vehicle, an Eastwind Lysander-branded second-hand truck, was used solely as a movable obstacle, and Ideal Automobile had no intention or evaluation of its quality.
China Automotive Research also released a statement stating that this test project only verified the safety performance of Ideal i8, and did not involve evaluating other brands' products.
According to China's typical traffic accident scenarios, the testing plan was established by following common road conditions. The test team executed the test based on a real-world scenario, with only quality standards for the heavy truck used as a movable obstacle.
China Automotive Research called upon industry, media, and public platforms to maintain objectivity and rationality, and to jointly safeguard the ecological environment. The organization also reserved the right to pursue legal action against malicious interpretations or misleading dissemination by platforms or individual media outlets.
In reviewing this event, on July 29th, Ideal Automobile released its first all-electric SUV, Ideal i8, and played a video of the car's crash test at the launch event. The video showed Ideal i8 colliding with a heavy truck at a speed of 61 km/h, with no damage to the battery pack or any other components. In the subsequent frontal collision and side-impact tests, the A-pillar, B-pillar, C-pillar, and door beams remained unscathed, with all nine airbags deployed.
The video sparked a huge reaction online, with some netizens questioning the safety of the heavy truck involved in the crash. On July 30th afternoon, employees from Eastwind Lysander-branded trucks stated that their company had always adhered to the principles of "quality first and safety above all," ensuring that every vehicle leaving the factory underwent strict quality control and safety testing.
On July 31st, Eastwind Lysander-branded trucks released a statement accusing Ideal Automobile of releasing the crash test video as an act of serious intellectual property infringement, exceeding normal commercial competition boundaries. The statement claimed that Ideal Automobile had not disclosed critical information about the test vehicle's condition and environment, using customized collision conditions to release biased crash test results, which tarnished its brand image and misled consumers.
Ideal Automobile responded by stating that this super experiment was based on real-world scenarios of user traffic accidents. The company delegated the testing and certification process to a professional third-party testing organization, with the test site, equipment, and heavy truck all provided by the testing organization. Ideal Automobile did not specify any details.
