Viral video shows China EV driver attacking cars
- On May 22, a man at an EV charging station in Foshan, Guangdong, smashed two parked cars with a fire extinguisher after waiting. - Foshan police told Chinese media they were investigating, and one report said officers later brought the man under control after the scene escalated. - The original X post was shared on May 22; Foshan’s Shunde district police and station operators are the next named parties.
A video shared on X on May 22 showed a helmeted man at a charging station in Foshan, in China’s Guangdong province, smashing parked cars with a fire extinguisher. Chinese media reports that followed said the incident happened at a charging site in Foshan’s Shunde district and that police were investigating. The footage circulated with claims that gasoline cars were blocking an electric-vehicle charger, but later reporting in Chinese and English-language outlets cast doubt on that description. What can be verified is narrower: a man damaged at least two vehicles at a charging station, and police were called. ### Where did this happen, and what do the verified reports say? Tencent News and Phoenix News both reported on May 22 that the incident took place in Foshan, Guangdong, in the jurisdiction of the Beijiao police station in Shunde district. Tencent cited staff at the Foshan Public Security Bureau’s Shunde branch as saying police had gone to the scene and were “investigating and handling” the case. Phoenix News said the man used a fire extinguisher to smash two vehicles at the site after apparently waiting for a charging space. Its report said police had taken control of the man involved and that the case remained under investigation. ### Were the damaged cars actually gasoline vehicles blocking the charger? MotorBiscuit, which reviewed the viral clip on May 22, said the social-media framing was wrong and pointed to a visible detail in the video: the black SUV appears to carry a green Chinese license plate. (news.qq.com) In China, green plates are used for new-energy vehicles, a category that includes battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, according to China Daily and other reporting on the country’s license-plate system. (news.ifeng.com) That does not settle whether the cars were improperly occupying the charging bays. It does mean the viral claim that the driver was attacking ordinary gasoline cars cannot be treated as verified from the video alone. Chinese reports cited online claims that some vehicles at the site were not charging, but the police statements available in those reports did not publicly classify the damaged vehicles by fuel type. (motorbiscuit.com) ### What does the video itself appear to show? Phoenix News described the footage as showing a man in a helmet striking a black car’s windshield and body with a fire extinguisher, then damaging a gray SUV parked beside it. Tencent’s report said a traffic police officer arrived at the scene and that the man then rammed occupying vehicles multiple times with his own car. (news.qq.com) The station signage visible in the video includes the name of China Southern Power Grid’s EV charging operation, according to Phoenix News. A customer-service representative cited by the outlet said staff did not have details of the case and advised drivers facing blocked bays to contact on-site property management or security. ### Why did the original claim spread so fast? (news.ifeng.com) The X post spread because charger-blocking disputes are already a flashpoint in EV use, and the clip fit a familiar online narrative about combustion cars occupying charging spaces. MotorBiscuit said users on X and other platforms quickly focused on the plate color and argued the first description was inaccurate. (news.ifeng.com) China’s use of green plates for new-energy vehicles added a visible clue that viewers could analyze frame by frame. Reuters reported in 2023 that Shanghai continued to issue free plates for pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars, underscoring how clearly those vehicles are identified in Chinese cities. (motorbiscuit.com) ### What is still unresolved? Foshan police had not, in the reports available on May 23, published a full account of the confrontation, the identities of the drivers, or any charges. The key unresolved points are whether the damaged vehicles were actively charging, whether any were improperly parked, and whether the man will face criminal or administrative penalties. (zawya.com) May 22 remains the key date in the public record so far: that is when the X post spread and when Chinese outlets said Shunde police were handling the case. Further details, if released, are likely to come from the Foshan Public Security Bureau’s Shunde branch or from follow-up reporting by Chinese media that spoke to the Beijiao police station. (news.qq.com)
