An electric BYD catches fire in China, triggering a steep drop in the manufacturer's shares

We all know that Chinese cars do not offer particularly sophisticated safety, and it is no secret that the lower price of these vehicles also comes with some doubts regarding safety. One of these Chinese manufacturers, BYD, has found itself embroiled in serious credibility problems in recent hours, after an accident involving one of its electric cars left its three occupants dead.

It must be said in BYD’s favour, and in favour of this BYD e6, that the vehicle that struck it was a Nissan GT-R which, according to witnesses, was apparently racing against a BMW and was travelling at almost 180 km/h. The impact against two taxis, one of which was the BYD, caused a fire in the electric car.

While the first investigations have begun, it is still not known whether the fire was caused by the electric car’s batteries or by some other factor, which will be decisive for the manufacturer, since following the accident its electric vehicle division has seen its shares fall alarmingly on the stock market.

Although any vehicle can catch fire in an accident of considerable magnitude, following this unfortunate incident there are doubts in China about the safety of the BYD, but more than anything, about the location of the batteries in these vehicles and their safety in accidents.