China Bans Tesla-Style Hidden Door Handles Starting January 2027
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has officially finalized a ban on flush EV door handles that will take effect January 1, 2027, marking a significant shift in automotive safety standards for the world’s largest electric vehicle market.
What the New Regulations Require
The new Chinese safety standards mandate that all car doors—excluding the tailgate—must be equipped with door handles featuring mechanical release functions. This requirement directly addresses the minimalist design popularized by Tesla, which has featured hidden or flush door handles across its entire vehicle lineup.
Beyond mechanical releases, the regulations specify precise requirements for handle design:
- Hand operating space: Door handles must provide at least 60 mm × 20 mm × 25 mm of accessible hand operating space relative to the vehicle body
- Visibility: Interior handles must include permanent graphic markings to improve visibility
- Mechanical fallbacks: Handles must function without electronic systems, ensuring operability during power loss or thermal events
- Positioning: Handles must be placed in expected locations, unlike some vehicles that conceal them in unconventional positions
Implementation Timeline
Newly designed vehicles must comply immediately upon the January 1, 2027 effective date. However, electric vehicle models already approved for production will receive a two-year grace period, allowing compliance by January 1, 2029.
Safety Concerns Driving the Ban
The regulation emerged from multiple high-profile incidents highlighting the dangers of hidden door handles. One widely-publicized case occurred in October when rescuers were shown failing to open the doors of a burning Xiaomi electric vehicle in Chengdu, where the driver became trapped. Additionally, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into cases where Tesla’s electronic door handles reportedly failed to work.
Safety advocates have long raised concerns that flush handles, while aerodynamically efficient, eliminate mechanical fallback options if electronic systems fail—particularly critical during fires or crashes.
Impact on Global Automotive Industry
The implications extend far beyond China’s borders. China is the world’s largest EV market, and its dozens of brands have growing operations abroad. Experts anticipate that regulators in Europe and the United States will likely follow China’s lead or that automakers will voluntarily abandon non-compliant designs for manufacturing simplicity.
What This Means for Manufacturers
Premium EV manufacturers will face particularly significant challenges, as retractable door handles are often treated as design and aerodynamic statements rather than functional necessities. This may require costly redesigns or retrofits for models not yet in full production.
However, the marginal aerodynamic benefits of flush handles—typically providing only slight efficiency improvements through reduced drag—are outweighed by the safety advantages of mechanical backup systems.
China’s decisive action represents a watershed moment for EV safety standards, demonstrating how regulatory frameworks can rapidly reshape industry practices when safety concerns reach critical levels.