Guangdong propaganda authorities have urged local media not to report anything critical about electric cars or BYD Auto after one its e6 taxis burst into flames in a Shenzhen crash, killing its driver and two passengers.
The fire, which happened after a sports car rear-ended the taxi early on Saturday, has raised concerns about the safety of the all-electric vehicle and pummelled the Shenzhen-based BYD's shares.
The incident and its possible repercussions were widely covered in the Guangdong media on Sunday, until outlets were ordered to stop discussing whether a design flaw could have caused the fire.
'Yes, we received the directive today from the provincial authorities,' said a journalist at one government-support newspaper who refused to give her name. 'We were told that it's fine to report the latest development of the accident but any news angle of electric cars and the vehicle maker is not allowed.'
Another Shenzhen-based journalist said: 'We had planed to develop an online debate about the safety of electric cars. But we have had to drop it and must restrict ourselves to the official statement by Shenzhen police.'
BYD said it was not aware of the directive and had not raised the issue with authorities.
'We are sorry for the accident and will co-operate with authorities to investigate the cause,' BYD spokesman Jiang Yinjie said. 'So far, we do not have any comment about the results of the crash investigation.'