China will ban retractable car handles beginning Jan. 1, 2027, amid growing safety concerns that electrically powered designs can prevent passengers from escaping or being rescued after mishaps. The ban appeared in a draft of new Automotive Door Handle Safety Requirements issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Dec. 16. 

Under the proposed rules, vehicles weighing less than 3.5 tons must be equipped with interior and exterior car door handles that include a mechanical emergency opening function. The requirement is intended to ensure doors can be opened during power failures or after collisions.

The draft also specifies standards for door handle release and power-off mechanisms, as well as handle placement and safety markings. The rules are part of a broader package of seven proposed automotive safety regulations. Online reaction in China has been largely supportive, with many users on social media backing stricter safety requirements for vehicle design.

Once promoted for reducing drag and improving aesthetics in EVs, retractable handles have increasingly drawn criticism for their safety risks. Complaints surged in 2024, including reports of children’s fingers being pinched and doors failing to open in cold weather or after crashes, according to the China Consumers Association.

Public concern intensified after a fatal car crash on Oct. 13 in Chengdu, capital of the southwestern Sichuan province, where the doors of a vehicle reportedly could not be opened to allow access to the victims. A similar crash in the eastern city of Tongling also resulted in three deaths. 

An anonymous source told Shanghai-based media outlet The Paper that the car model in both accidents, a Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, lacks a mechanical exterior door handle.

“The interior (door) uses buttons, which can’t be electrically unlocked after the power is cut off. The SU7’s internal mechanical door handle…is not visible to people inside the car. Even if rescue workers break the window glass, they can’t reach it,” they said.

Both Chinese and international electric car brands have recently been under public scrutiny for their electrically reliant door handles. In September, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation into the Tesla Model Y after reports that door handle failures may have delayed rescues in fatal crashes.

In an interview with domestic media, Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motors, called the concealed door handle detached from users’ needs, saying that it neither lowered the power consumption nor improved passengers’ safety.

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: Visuals from VCG, reedited by Sixth Tone)