Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Automotive News
  • Automobilwoche
  • Automotive News Canada
  • Automotive News Mexico
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Login
  • HOME
  • News
    • Photos
    • Automakers
    • Suppliers
    • Sales By Market
    • Environment/Emissions
    • Latest Launches
    • Sales and Retail
    • Car Cutaways
    • On The Move
    • China's Baoneng boosts stake in Qoros
      Citroen says Ami One two-seater is a new concept for affordable mobility
      EU, Japan back automatic braking regulation
      German auto jobs at risk from hard Brexit
    • Driv spinoff to build smart suspension systems
      Faurecia hopes to outperform uncertain market
      Plastic Omnium posts strong results despite global production slump
      Sweden's Veoneer forecasts flat sales in 2019
    • Porsche, Alfa Romeo and Nissan take big hits as European sales fall 5% in January
      Russia sales rise nearly 1% in January despite VAT increase
      Audi, Fiat, BMW among losers as Spanish sales fall 8% in January
      Volvo, VW gain sales in UK market down nearly 2% in January as diesel plunge continues
    • Volvo blurs the wagon/SUV line with the V60 Cross Country
      view gallery
      7 photos
      New Range Rover Evoque designed for the 'urban jungle'
      Range Rover Evoque gets hybrid tech to cut emissions
      Tarraco gives Seat a flagship SUV to help retain wealthy buyers
    • Ferrari will unveil V-8 hybrid supercar this year
      Mercedes outsold Audi in China last month on sedan demand
      Tesla's Musk visits Norway to review delivery delays
      Europe's minicar segment to shrink as VW, PSA mull axing their smallest cars
    • Suppliers to the new Porsche Panamera
      Suppliers to the new Peugeot 5008
      Suppliers to the new Seat Ibiza
      Suppliers to the new VW Touareg
    • Ford names new chief government relations officer
      Daimler appoints Airbus exec as finance chief
      VW China CEO to join VW brand's management board
      Mini USA names marketing veteran McKenna head of product planning
    • Geneva Photo Gallery
    • Beijing Photo Gallery
    • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
    • Paris Photo Gallery
    • Shanghai Photo Gallery
  • Auto Shows
    • Geneva Auto Show
    • Frankfurt Auto Show
    • Paris Auto Show
    • Beijing Auto Show
    • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Citroen says Ami One two-seater is a new concept for affordable mobility
      China EV startup Aiways will launch SUV in Europe
      Bentley revs up Bentayga with Speed variant
      Skoda will debut first EV at Geneva show
    • Bugatti considers four-door model for 2024
      Frankfurt's best and wurst
      Frankfurt photo booth
      Merkel says German car industry must work to rebuild trust
    • Vietnam's first automaker now has names for first sedan, SUV
      China's GAC likely to debut in Europe with an EV
      Bugatti mulls SUV as part of broader model range
      Ferrari Monza supercars will earn $755 million in revenue
    • VW will launch SOL EV brand in China with subcompact crossover
      view gallery
      9 photos
      BMW will export iX3 electric SUV to Europe, U.S. from China
      view gallery
      9 photos
      BMW's iX3 concept heralds electric expansion
      view gallery
      11 photos
      Mercedes seeks to keep China luxury lead with stretched A class
    • view gallery
      7 photos
      Jeep finds green groove with plug-in hybrid SUV concept
      Foreign automakers embrace China as EV development hub
      China lands Chevy Volt in a Buick wrapper
      Ferrari, Aston Martin, Maserati sales soar in China as rich snub austerity push
  • Opinion
    • Blogs
    • Luca Ciferri
    • Douglas A. Bolduc
    • Paul McVeigh
    • Ford's 'redesign' for Europe emphasizes SUVs, LCVs
      Russia's Google, Yandex, impresses with its self-driving tech
      Renault Twizy gets new life in Korea as motorcycle replacement
      Why the car is no longer the ticket to freedom
    • Ford's 'redesign' for Europe emphasizes SUVs, LCVs
      Russia's Google, Yandex, impresses with its self-driving tech
      Renault Twizy gets new life in Korea as motorcycle replacement
      Why the car is no longer the ticket to freedom
    • Ford's 'redesign' for Europe emphasizes SUVs, LCVs
      Russia's Google, Yandex, impresses with its self-driving tech
      Renault Twizy gets new life in Korea as motorcycle replacement
      Why the car is no longer the ticket to freedom
    • Ford's 'redesign' for Europe emphasizes SUVs, LCVs
      Russia's Google, Yandex, impresses with its self-driving tech
      Renault Twizy gets new life in Korea as motorcycle replacement
      Why the car is no longer the ticket to freedom
  • Maps
    • E-Car & Component Map of Europe
    • Powertrain Map of Europe
    • Assembly Plant Map of Europe
  • Supplements
    • Connected Car
    • Talk From The Top
    • BMW 100
    • Car Cutaways
  • EVENTS & AWARDS
    • Automotive News Europe Congress
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
  • E-MAGAZINE
    • Read the latest issue
    • Download the app
    • Subscribe
  • More
    • E-Magazine
    • Contact Us
    • 2019 Media Kit
    • About Us
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Automotive News Europe
August 10, 2016 01:00 AM

Tesla reports Autopilot crash in China

Jake Spring
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Bloomberg
    The term "zidong jiashi" appears several times on Tesla's Chinese portal, which is most literally translated to mean "self-driving."

    BEIJING -- Tesla Motors said on Wednesday that one of its cars had crashed in Beijing while in Autopilot mode, with the driver contending sales staff sold the function as "self-driving," overplaying its actual capabilities.

    Tesla said it had reviewed data to confirm the car was in Autopilot mode, a system that takes control of steering and braking in certain conditions.

    The company, which is investigating the crash in China's capital last week, also said it was the driver's responsibility to maintain control of the vehicle. In this case, it said, the driver's hands were not detected on the steering wheel.

    The crash, Tesla's first known such incident in China, comes months after a fatal accident in Florida, which turned up pressure on auto industry executives and regulators to tighten rules on automated driving technology.

    A 33-year-old programmer at a tech firm, Luo Zhen was driving to work and engaged the Autopilot function as he often does on Beijing's highways, he told Reuters in his first interview with international media.

    Luo, who filmed the incident with a dashboard camera, said his car hit a vehicle parked half off the road. The accident sheered off the parked vehicle's side mirror and scraped both cars, but caused no injuries.

    "The driver of the Tesla, whose hands were not detected on the steering wheel, did not steer to avoid the parked car and instead scraped against its side," a Tesla spokeswoman said in an emailed response to Reuters.

    "As clearly communicated to the driver in the vehicle, autosteer is an assist feature that requires the driver to keep his hands on the steering wheel at all times, to always maintain control and responsibility for the vehicle, and to be prepared to take over at any time."

    Luo, however, blamed the crash on a fault in the autopilot system and said Tesla's sales staff strongly promoted the system as "self-driving."

    "The impression they give everyone is that this is self-driving, this isn't assisted driving," he said.

    Interviews with four other unconnected Tesla drivers in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou also indicated the message conveyed by front-line sales staff did not match up with Tesla's more clear cut statements that the system is not "self-driving" but an advance driver assistance system.

    These Tesla owners all said salespeople described the cars' function in Chinese as "self-driving," a term the company generally avoids using in English, and took their hands off the wheel while demonstrating it.

    "They all described it as being able to drive itself," said Shanghai resident Mao Mao, who bought a Tesla Model S last year.

    The term "zidong jiashi" appears several times on Tesla's Chinese portal, which is most literally translated to mean "self-driving." It is also the term for airplane autopilot, leaving room for confusion among consumers.

    "We have never described autopilot as an autonomous technology or a 'self-driving car,' and any third-party descriptions to this effect are not accurate," the Tesla spokeswoman said.

    China woes 

    Tesla does not regularly announce its sales data for China, where it has faced tough local competition, and it is not clear how many cars in the country have Autopilot, an add-on feature that costs more than 27,000 yuan ($4,000) extra. 

    The company struggled to sell its high-tech electric cars in China at first due to distribution issues and widespread concerns about charging vehicles.

    There is no clear regulation on self-driving cars in China as the country is in the midst of drafting its policy toward the technology. Under current Chinese law, drivers must keep two hands on the wheel at all times.

    China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology did not respond to faxed questions asking about the legality of self-driving cars, including Tesla's Autopilot function. The Ministry of Transportation did not reply to a request for comment.

    Unsatisfied with Tesla's initial response to his crash, Luo posted pictures and a video of the crash on Chinese social media platform Weibo describing the incident and criticizing the company.

    The pictures show damages to his blue Tesla Model S and a parked Volkswagen, while the dashboard camera video captures the lead up to the crash and the car subsequently stopping.

    Luo, who said he had used Autopilot for more than a month, said he was looking at his phone or the in-car navigation at the time of the accident, only looking up every several seconds -- but blamed Tesla's hard sell.

    "They use this immature technology as a sales and promotion tactic ... but they don't take responsibility for the safety of the function," he said.

    Tesla does provide safeguards. If a driver has not touched the wheel in a certain amount of time, the autopilot system will remind drivers to place their hands on the wheel and will automatically come to a stop if drivers do not heed the warning.

    Monthly E-Magazine
    Thumbnail
    View latest issue
    See our archive
    Sign up for free newsletters
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get Free Newsletters

    Sign up and get the best of Automotive News Europe delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Automotive News Europe Monthly E-Magazine

    Sign up to receive your free link to each monthly issue of Automotive News Europe as soon as it's published.

    GET THE E-MAGAZINE
    Connect with Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram

    Founded in 1996, Automotive News Europe is the preferred information source for decision-makers and opinion leaders operating in Europe.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI  48207-2997
    Tel: +1 877-812-1584


    Email Us

    Resources
    • About us
    • Contact Us
    • 2019 Media Kit
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Awards
    • Rising Stars
    • Eurostars
    • Leading Women
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    Copyright © 1996-2019. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • HOME
    • News
      • Photos
        • Geneva Photo Gallery
        • Beijing Photo Gallery
        • Frankfurt Photo Gallery
        • Paris Photo Gallery
        • Shanghai Photo Gallery
      • Automakers
      • Suppliers
      • Sales By Market
      • Environment/Emissions
      • Latest Launches
      • Sales and Retail
      • Car Cutaways
      • On The Move
    • Auto Shows
      • Geneva Auto Show
      • Frankfurt Auto Show
      • Paris Auto Show
      • Beijing Auto Show
      • Shanghai Auto Show
    • Opinion
      • Blogs
      • Luca Ciferri
      • Douglas A. Bolduc
      • Paul McVeigh
    • Maps
      • E-Car & Component Map of Europe
      • Powertrain Map of Europe
      • Assembly Plant Map of Europe
    • Supplements
      • Connected Car
      • Talk From The Top
      • BMW 100
      • Car Cutaways
    • EVENTS & AWARDS
      • Automotive News Europe Congress
      • Rising Stars
      • Eurostars
      • Leading Women
    • E-MAGAZINE
      • Read the latest issue
      • Download the app
      • Subscribe
    • More
      • E-Magazine
      • Contact Us
      • 2019 Media Kit
      • About Us