Another NIO test vehicle accident, football probe nets association chairman, Dingdong posts first profit

Another fatal NIO test vehicle accident: A test vehicle made by electric car company NIO was involved in a fatal accident in Shanghai on February 3. The car crashed into a sidewalk, killing a mother and seriously injuring her son, reportedly because the driver stepped on the accelerator instead of the brakes. News of the accident was only reported in the media this week. On June 23 2022, a NIO test vehicle fell from the third floor of a Shanghai building, killing two occupants. NIO responded today saying that it cannot comment while the police investigation is still underway.

Football anti-corruption probe nets association chairman: Last night, the Hubei Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection announced that Chén Xūyuán 陈戌源, head of the Chinese Football Association, is under investigation for corruption. This follows the arrest in November 2022 of former player and national team coach Lǐ Tiě 李铁, and the suspension and arrest of two senior officials in January. This marks a new low for Chinese football, which has been plagued by corruption scandals, match fixing, and bad sportsmanship.

Fresh grocery retailer Dingdong posts first ever quarterly profit: For the fourth quarter of 2022, Dingdong Maicai reported total revenue of 6.20 billion yuan ($899 million), a year-on-year increase of 13.1%, and net profit 49.9 million yuan ($7.31 million). This was the first time that the company reported a quarterly profit under the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) accounting rules and standards. Dingdong’s model of front-end warehouses (located less than 3 km / 1.8 miles from customers’ homes) has long been viewed as unprofitable and unsustainable. However, the COVID pandemic created new consumer habits, boosting demand for fresh food ecommerce. The scale of the industry in China is expected to increase from 5 trillion yuan ($732.85 billion) in 2020 to 6.8 trillion yuan ($996.85 billion) in 2025.