China to ban concealed door handles on EVs over safety concerns

China will ban concealed door handles on electric vehicles, becoming the first country to do so. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said cars must have a mechanical release on both the inside and outside of every door except the boot. Regulations require a hand-operable space of at least 6cm by 2cm by 2.5cm to manually release the door, and interior signs must show occupants how to open it.

The rules take effect on 1 January next year. The flush-mounted pop-out handle design, first popularised by Tesla's Model S in 2012, uses electrical signals to activate the latch and can slightly reduce drag. It is common on many EVs worldwide and features in about 60% of the top 100 bestselling new energy vehicles in China.

The change follows several deadly incidents in which power failures trapped occupants and were attributed to the design, including an October collision in Chengdu involving Xiaomi's SU7 and a 2024 fatal crash involving a Tesla Cybertruck that is the subject of a US lawsuit.

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