A Glasgow man got the shock of his life when his electric car began driving itself and could not be stopped or turned off.
Brian Morrison was on his way home from work late at night, when his electric car, a $36,000 Chinese-made MG ZS EV, reportedly malfunctioned and began driving itself at a speed of 30 mph.
According to Morrison, he realized something was wrong when he attempted to slow down approaching a roundabout, but the vehicle failed to respond.
Instead, he heard a loud grinding noise similar to brake pads. Given that the car was new, Morrison ruled out any brake-related issues.
When Chinese electric cars go rogue
Unable to regain control of the car, Morrison managed to navigate the roundabout before finding himself trapped inside the vehicle, hurtling down the road at 30 mph.
“I have mobility issues, so I couldn’t even jump out – I was completely trapped inside the car going at 30mph,” he told the Daily Mail.
“It might not sound like it is very fast, but when you have no control over the speed and you’re completely stuck inside it’s terrifying.”
Utterly bizarre story!
— BillN (@ItsBillN) October 4, 2023
FSD MG ZS EV
“Brian initially called his wife in a panic to ask her to warn cars ahead of him that he could not stop his car” 🤣🤷♂️https://t.co/e9HhCbxavx
Morrison called his wife and informed her of the situation, asking her to meet him in the direction his vehicle was heading to warn other motorists ahead of him that he was unable to stop.
Recognizing the potential dangers posed by upcoming traffic lights, and concerned about the possibility of colliding with pedestrians, Morrison dialed emergency services.
To his surprise, the emergency services had never encountered such a situation before and were uncertain how to respond.
A creative solution to shutting down Chinese electric cars
Eventually, the police arrived with three vehicles, positioning themselves in front and behind Morrison’s runaway car.
Despite their efforts, the police were also unable to bring the car to a halt and advised Morrison to throw his electronic key through their van window.
Unfortunately, this failed to disengage the engine. After attempting various methods to turn off the vehicle, all of which proved unsuccessful, the police instructed Morrison to intentionally collide with the back of their van once they reached a more populated area.
He came to another roundabout, which slowed down the car, and bumped into the police van while it was moving, before the officer slowed the vehicle to a stop.
“After that, a police officer jumped into my car and did something which seemed to keep the car still,” he recalled.
Nobody knows what to do when Chinese electric cars malfunction
But when they tried moving the van, the car kept going, so they called the UK version of AAA, and a mechanic had to come out to figure out how to shut the car down.
The three hour diagnostic returned wages of faults, according to Morrison. “He said he had never seen anything like it, and decided he was not willing to turn the engine on to see what was wrong,” he said about the mechanic.
Get ready to meet the electrifying future of SUVs – the MG ZS EV. Unleash a new era of driving with electrifying innovation#MGZSEV #ElectricSUV #Innovation #MGKhyber #MG4EV #ElectricHatchback #Innovation #UltimateDrivingExperience #electric #ExhilaratingDrive #Sporty #UK pic.twitter.com/96UUBjwyfo
— MG KHYBER (@MgKhyber) October 1, 2023
His insurance company is investigating the incident and MG Motor UK said they have been urgently trying to reach Morrison, so they can run a full inspection on his car.
“We take this matter very seriously and now that contact has been made, we will be making every effort to resolve matters quickly and comprehensively for him,” the company noted.
