Stay informed with free updates
Simply sign up to the Automobiles myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.
Chinese regulators have banned hidden car door handles, making it the first country to crack down on a design popularised by Tesla, as the increasingly common feature in electric vehicles raises safety concerns.
China’s industry and IT ministry, which regulates the automotive sector, said late on Monday it would require carmakers to equip each door with a clearly visible handle and a mechanical release, in contrast to electrically powered handles and locks.
The ministry said it had standardised the safety design of car door handles to tackle issues including “inconvenient operation” and “inability to open after an accident”.
The guideline will take effect at the beginning of 2027 and is expected to affect many electric-vehicle makers that have followed in Tesla’s footsteps and embraced the design for its sleek, minimalist aesthetic.
Almost all of the top-selling EV makers in China have models with retractable door handles. More sophisticated features include voice-activated doors and those that respond to hand movements.
However, the unconventional designs have been criticised for making doors difficult to open during emergencies.
A fatal crash in 2024 involving Huawei-backed Aito’s M7 sport utility vehicle, which has retractable handles, sparked debate after videos on social media showed rescue workers breaking windows in an attempt to save victims. Three people, including a two-year-old boy, died.
“The power and signal cables had been immediately severed, preventing the door handle controller from receiving the ejection signal,” Aito said in a statement at the time. “Rescue personnel broke the window and pulled the mechanical door handle from inside to open the door.”
Concerns grew last year after two crashes involving Xiaomi’s SU7, which has flush battery-powered handles. Videos from an accident in October showed bystanders struggling to open the car’s doors.
In June, Xiaomi launched its YU7 SUV with fully recessed handles. Amid concerns about the design, Li Xiaoshuang, vice-president of the automotive division, said in a livestream on the company’s social media accounts last month that the YU7’s handles had mechanical releases inside and outside the car, along with three back-up batteries.
“Only a handful of cars on the market offer such redundancy,” said Li. “Our design is very advanced.”
Bill Russo, founder of Shanghai-based consultancy Automobility, said the new rule would require changes to some EV models sold in China but not a “clean-sheet” redesign.
“Many [original equipment manufacturers] already engineer alternative handle solutions for export markets with different regulations,” said Russo.
“The incremental cost impact per vehicle is likely modest — measured in tens of dollars rather than hundreds — especially for high-volume platforms.”
He added that the rule suggested Chinese regulators were aiming for “mass-market standardisation, as EVs move from early adopters to the mainstream”.
Stella Li, executive vice-president of EV maker BYD, told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday: “With new regulation, we’ll be ready to change any handle as the government wishes.”
US regulators are also investigating hidden door handles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last year opened probes into Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 over concerns about the accessibility of emergency door releases.