Tesla rival faces online heat as Nio smart car comes to a halt in Chinese capital
- Test drive ends in traffic jam, then software glitch shuts down electric car and locks passengers inside for more than an hour
The cutting edge image of Chinese electric car builder Nio was blunted a little after a test drive of one of its smart cars ground to a halt on one of Beijing’s most prestigious addresses, leaving the driver and a Nio rep stuck inside until the vehicle completed a software update.
Nio, which markets itself as a challenger to Tesla, confirmed the incident on its Weibo account on Tuesday, claiming the driver “accidentally made a series of operations that activated the system update” during a traffic jam on Changan Avenue.
The car “went dark to start a system [update] that lasted more than an hour”, according to a message with a screenshot posted by the Nio employee on social media.
It was not clear when the incident took place as the screenshot did not show the time.
The 3.8km (2.4 mile) long Changan Avenue, which passes some of China’s most important government and Communist Party addresses, is heavily policed. It also abuts Tiananmen Square, home to the National People’s Congress, China’s central bank, and Zhongnanhai, the party’s central headquarters.