China is set to become the first country to ban concealed door handles on electric vehicles, following a series of fatal accidents that drew scrutiny to the design popularised by Tesla. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced on Monday that all cars sold in China must include a mechanical release on the inside and outside of every door, excluding the boot.
The regulations, which take effect on 1 January next year, state that each door must provide a hand-operable space measuring at least 6cm by 2cm by 2.5cm for manual release. Interior signs must also show occupants how to open the doors. The ministry said the changes would “improve the level of automotive safety design”.
Flush-mounted pop-out handles were introduced by Tesla’s Model S in 2012, using electrical signals to activate the door latch. They provide a slight efficiency gain by reducing drag, and have since appeared on many EVs worldwide. State media reports say roughly 60 per cent of China’s 100 best-selling new energy vehicles feature the design.
Vehicles launched after January must comply, although models already approved and in the final stages of launch will have a two-year grace period. The move follows several high-profile incidents in which power failures left occupants trapped because no manual release was available. In October, a fatal collision in Chengdu involving Xiaomi’s SU7 electric sedan left bystanders unable to open the vehicle and rescue the driver before it burst into flames. Tesla is also facing a lawsuit in the US over a 2024 Cybertruck crash in which three people died after the vehicle’s electric doors lost power.
China is the world’s largest EV market, and its manufacturers are expanding overseas. Figures published last month showed BYD sold more electric vehicles than Tesla in 2024, overtaking the US pioneer in the annual sales category for the first time.
