Safety is the greatest luxury, but how much impact can the luxury you pursue withstand?

In reality or online, we've seen too many accident vehicles, especially new energy vehicles. Some get "injured" even with minor collisions, some catch fire while stationary, some don't deploy airbags in major traffic accidents, and some experience sudden steering wheel lock - ups on the highway...

Almost every time a new car is launched, car manufacturers claim with confidence that it's "absolutely safe." However, when accidents occur, the word "safety" seems so fragile.

So, what kind of car can be considered "safe"?

First, look at its body structure and materials. You can find the answer from the "bare body" of the vehicle model. If the car manufacturer displays it prominently in the showroom, it shows confidence. On the contrary, we should stay away from manufacturers that try to hide it.

Then, pay attention to its active and passive safety systems. One is the "foreseer" of risks, such as whether it is standard - equipped with automatic emergency braking and blind - spot monitoring. The other is the last line of defense. In case of a collision, whether the airbags can deploy smoothly and whether there are enough of them are factors to consider.

Of course, as the core component of new energy vehicles, the battery also requires careful research and selection. We should try to avoid brands that often have reports of fires and spontaneous combustion. Instead, give priority to brands with a large number of vehicles on the road but a low accident rate.

As for the intelligent assisted driving system, it also helps us drive more easily and safely from the aspects of active and passive safety. So, a car equipped with an industry - leading intelligent assistance system is also trustworthy. However, it should be noted that the intelligent assisted driving system currently cannot completely replace human driving, and the driver remains the main subject of safety responsibility.

When choosing a car, safety must be the top priority. The luxury you pursue, such as brand popularity, the richness of in - car configurations, driving comfort, and a sense of luxury, all become insignificant in the face of your life.

1. "100 Ways to Fail" of New Energy Vehicles

Today, when the sales volume of new energy vehicles has reached a new high, with a cumulative sales volume of 5.468 million in the first half of the year, public opinions caused by the quality and safety issues of new energy vehicles are intensifying.

Picture/Production and sales of the new energy market in H1 2025. Source/Screenshot from Internet and New Energy Outlook

Da Xu posted on a social platform that in his pure - electric sports car of a certain new energy brand, less than three months after taking delivery, the steering wheel suddenly locked up while he was driving on the highway, making it impossible to change lanes.

"I still feel terrified when I think about it now. Fortunately, I managed to park the car safely on the emergency lane. Otherwise, it could have easily led to a chain - reaction accident."

Picture/A car owner encountering a steering wheel lock - up phenomenon. Source/Screenshot from Internet and New Energy Outlook

Da Xu revealed that after the incident, the 4S shop inspected the vehicle and found that there was a design flaw in the steering gear. If it got wet, it would cause steering failure. "Although they sealed it with glue, who can guarantee that this won't happen again?"

Mr. Huang from Zhejiang encountered an axle - breaking failure in his new energy vehicle. He recalled that when he was driving his SUV of a certain new - force brand on an urban road, the rear wheel axle suddenly broke.

Picture/Axle - breaking of a certain brand of vehicle. Source/Screenshot from Internet and New Energy Outlook

Immediately after the incident, Mr. Huang contacted the after - sales staff of the new - force brand. However, their explanation was that "the axle - breaking was caused by improper operation of the owner, not a quality issue. You can contact the insurance company for compensation."

"I quickly reported it to the insurance company. After they inspected the vehicle on - site, they said that there was no visible damage to the outside of the wheel, so it should be a quality problem of the vehicle itself and suggested contacting the manufacturer." Mr. Huang still sounded angry and helpless. "Did I spend more than 300,000 yuan on a flimsy car?"

The axle - breaking of new energy vehicles may seem like a "probability event," but in fact, there have been quite a few similar complaints from car owners in the past two years. Some car owners experienced axle - breaking when moving their cars in the parking lot, some when passing through a pothole less than 20 centimeters deep, and some when passing over a speed bump at the entrance of a residential area...

However, steering failures and axle - breakings seem to be just the "appetizers" among the quality problems of new energy vehicles.

From the beginning of this year to the present, data from the third - party complaint platform Chezhiwang shows that there have been 948 complaints about false range claims, and there are many cases where the actual range of new cars is less than 70% of the claimed range.

Picture/Some complaint cases about "false range claims" on Chezhiwang. Source/Screenshot from Chezhiwang and New Energy Outlook

Meanwhile, electric vehicle spontaneous combustion incidents caused by batteries are still occurring. In February, an electric vehicle in a basement parking lot in Yongjia, Wenzhou spontaneously combusted while stationary, and the spreading fire damaged eight surrounding vehicles to varying degrees. In April, the bottom of an electric vehicle suddenly caught fire and combusted while charging at a charging station in Shanghai. In June, a new energy vehicle spontaneously combusted while entering a parking lot in Guiyang, Guizhou...

Picture/CCTV's report on a vehicle fire of a certain brand. Source/Screenshot from Internet and New Energy Outlook

The "pitfalls" of intelligent driving are relatively more hidden. Mr. Wang, a car owner in Beijing, was using the "automatic assisted driving" function to change lanes on the highway when the system misjudged the vehicle in front, resulting in a collision. A car owner in Shanghai's vehicle hit a guardrail during an automatic lane - change. The driving recorder showed that the system failed to recognize the guardrail and even accelerated to overtake.

In addition, there are some overlooked "minor problems." Individually, they seem like "minor glitches," but in fact, when combined, they can pose fatal risks at critical moments.

For example, after a collision, the electric doors of a certain electric vehicle got stuck and couldn't be opened, trapping the car owner and two passengers inside and preventing them from escaping. A certain vehicle had long - standing brake noise, and once, on a wet road in rainy weather, the brakes failed, causing it to rear - end the vehicle in front.

2. How are "Fragile" New Energy Vehicles Made?

The frequent occurrence of these safety accidents makes people wonder: Why are some new energy vehicles good - looking but not practical?

Industry insiders believe that as the competition in the new energy market becomes increasingly fierce, some car manufacturers may choose to cut corners in invisible areas to "protect themselves." They use cheaper materials and simpler technical solutions to reduce costs.

"Continuous cost - reduction and efficiency - improvement will inevitably lead car manufacturers into a vicious cycle of simply cutting costs. And quality, which should be a standard for every car manufacturer, will naturally become a fatal weakness for some."

The beginning of this safety failure may be related to the impact of Internet thinking on traditional car - manufacturing logic. Traditional car - manufacturing often emphasizes that "safety is 1, and other things are 0," while Internet thinking focuses more on the product iteration speed and attracting users' attention.

Under this thinking logic, the first to be affected is the body structure.

When traditional car manufacturers build a car, the steel strength of the bare body, the density of welding points, and the thickness of the anti - collision beam are all polished through thousands of collision tests. A certain joint - venture brand even crashed dozens of cars in the laboratory for a difference of 0.1 millimeter in steel plate thickness.

Picture/The bare body of a traditional car. Source/Screenshot from Internet and New Energy Outlook

However, some new - force car manufacturers, in order to reduce manufacturing costs, on one hand, use promotional words like "cage - type body" and "high proportion of hot - formed steel," while on the other hand, quietly reduce the steel strength of key parts.

Picture/Cage - type body. Source/Screenshot from Internet and New Energy Outlook

For example, they use high - strength steel for the A - pillar but secretly replace the B - pillar with ordinary steel. In the promotional pictures, the anti - collision beam looks as thick as an arm, but in the actual vehicle, they use aluminum alloy instead. Some even use the pursuit of "low - wind - resistance styling" as a gimmick to shorten the front suspension to the limit. However, this will severely compress the energy - absorbing space in case of a collision, and it's predictable that the safety index of a car lacking a buffer zone will be greatly reduced during a collision.

Secondly, the suspension and braking systems. Their cost - cutting will directly affect handling safety.

Picture/Vehicle suspension system. Source/Screenshot from Internet and New Energy Outlook

The suspension, as the "leg bone" for vehicle handling and safety, should be made of forged aluminum alloy or high - strength steel. However, some car manufacturers replace it with cast - iron parts or even purchase inferior control arms produced by small factories.

In terms of the braking system, a certain brand reduced the friction coefficient of the brake pads to reduce energy consumption. However, such a small adjustment will increase the braking distance to some extent, and it's easier to experience "unresponsive brakes" in rainy weather.

The "short - sightedness" in battery safety poses a fatal hidden danger. As the heart of electric vehicles, the battery accounts for more than 40% of the total vehicle cost. Therefore, some car manufacturers choose to use batteries from second - and third - tier suppliers for mid - and low - end models to reduce costs to the maximum extent. However, second - and third - tier batteries still have a certain gap with leading manufacturers in terms of safety management technology and materials, and are more likely to catch fire and combust in case of high temperatures, collisions, etc.

Finally, the "over - commitment" of car manufacturers to intelligent systems further exacerbates the risks. Some brands package "L2 - level assisted driving" as "autonomous driving" and use functions like "automatic lane - change" and "full - speed - range following" to blur users' understanding of the word "assistance."

This deliberate blurring of the technical boundaries causes some consumers to be overly dependent on and trust intelligent driving functions. Some even choose to sleep while the intelligent driving function is on during driving, which leads to accidents.

3. Safety Shouldn't Be Ignored When Buying a Car

If car manufacturers are the objective factors causing potential safety hazards for consumers in using cars, then some consumers' neglect of safety when buying a car is a subjective factor.

"It has a range of 700 kilometers, can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4 seconds, and there's a rear - seat entertainment screen!"

At a new energy vehicle experience store, Xiao Lin, a recent graduate, was dazzled by the display car. When asked what kind of steel was used in the body structure, he was stunned for a moment. "Is this important? The salesperson said it has automatic braking and assisted driving, so it should be quite safe, right?"

Such scenarios are now common in major new energy vehicle stores. More and more consumers only focus on "visible parameters" like large screens, acceleration, and range when choosing a car, while being indifferent to "life - saving indicators" such as body strength, battery protection, and braking distance.

Picture/Large in - car screen of a certain brand. Source/Screenshot from Internet and New Energy Outlook

For example, an early - stage car - manufacturing enterprise that transitioned from the mobile phone industry to the automotive industry sold a large number of its first - generation cars. Many consumers were even willing to wait for a year to buy it. Behind this is