A man opens the door of a Zeekr X7 electric vehicle in a showroom in Beijing on February 3, 2026. Credit line: Pedro Pardo / AFP / Profimedia
China is banning retractable door handles after several tragic accidents showed the electrical systems could trap passengers inside in the event of a fire. The new law forces car giants such as Tesla, Xiaomi and BYD to return to manual unlocking, according to the BBC.
A new directive issued Monday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology requires all cars sold in China to be equipped with a mechanical opening system for every door except the trunk. This technical solution must be functional both inside and outside the vehicle to guarantee evacuation in any situation.
The new regulations will “improve the safety level of automobile design,” the statement said.
The measures, which will come into effect on January 1, 2027, state that every car must provide a manually operable space of at least 6cm x 2cm x 2.5cm for manual door opening. At the same time, the presence of clear signs indicating to passengers how to open the doors in an emergency becomes mandatory inside the vehicle.
The recessed, hinged door handle was first popularized by Elon Musk's Tesla Model S, released in 2012. The system, which integrates the handle into the door and uses electrical sensors to open it, helps reduce drag, thereby increasing battery efficiency.
The style has exploded in popularity in China, where about 60 percent of the top 100 electric and hybrid vehicles currently use this technology.
The new regulations force all car manufacturers to redesign their vehicles. Thus, the models that will be launched after January next year must immediately comply with the new safety standards.
However, the authorities have provided a two-year grace period for cars that are already approved or in the final stages of release, giving manufacturers the time they need to implement manual opening systems.
Several fatal accidents
The decision of the Chinese authorities was motivated by several tragedies in which the absence of manual opening turned cars into death traps. Electrical faults during the impact trapped the passengers inside, preventing any rescue attempt.
In October, witnesses to an accident in Chengdu were unable to save the driver of a Xiaomi SU7 because the electric doors were stuck before the car burst into flames. A similar scenario played out in the US, where Tesla is being sued after a Cybertruck caught fire and its electric door locks killed three captive passengers.
China is the world's largest electric vehicle market, and its dozens of brands are expanding operations overseas. Statistics released last month showed that Chinese firm BYD sold more electric vehicles than Tesla last year, overtaking the US industry pioneer in the annual category for the first time.
