China will prohibit hidden or retractable exterior car door handles beginning in 2027, the industry ministry said, marking the first national phase-out of a design popularized by Tesla and later adopted by a number of Chinese automakers. The measure requires that every car door be fitted with both exterior and interior handles, and specifies that a mechanical release mechanism must be present, while electrically operated handles will be allowed only as optional features.
Under the new safety technical requirements, regulators set clear rules for the external placement and operation of door handles to ensure they can be opened during accidents. Interior handles must also be visibly prominent so occupants or rescuers can find them easily. The ministry said manufacturers must align new vehicle models with the rule from January 1, 2027; vehicles already approved are subject to the same standards by January 1, 2029.
The hidden-handle design functions either through a key fob or a mobile phone signal, or by manual pressure on the exterior. Such mechanisms have attracted scrutiny in both China and the United States on account of potential safety risks. In the United States, the national auto safety regulator launched a defect probe last year into the emergency door release controls of the Tesla Model 3 sedan.
Tesla did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the Chinese announcement. The company previously did not comment on the U.S. probe when it was opened.
Chinese state media earlier reported an incident in October in which the driver of a Xiaomi SU7 Ultra sedan died after bystanders were unable to open the door to extract him from the burning car. Xiaomi has not issued a public comment on that reported incident and did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the new Chinese regulation.
The ministry's prescription that mechanical release mechanisms be mandatory places a clear technical constraint on door hardware designs. While it allows manufacturers to include electrical handle innovations, the baseline requirement for mechanical operation and visible interior handles is intended to preserve simple, direct means of escape or rescue after a collision.
The staged deadlines - one for new models and a later one for previously approved vehicles - provide manufacturers a transition period to redesign or certify door systems to meet the new standard. The ministry's communication also lays out specifications for the positioning and functional behaviour of external handles so that they operate reliably in emergency scenarios.
Manufacturers and suppliers that have adopted hidden-handle systems will need to ensure that future designs conform to the prescribed locations and mechanisms. The decisions by regulators in China and the ongoing probe in the United States underline scrutiny of door-handle design as part of broader vehicle safety evaluations.