- China has officially implemented new regulations banning hidden door handles, as reported by Bloomberg.
- The rules ban both the types of door handles that pop out by pressing one end of the handle, and the types of door handles that are electrically powered.
- The rule will come into effect on January 1, 2027 and could have wider implications as China is the world’s largest car market.
The growing popularity of electric vehicles has made aerodynamics play an even more important role in mainstream car design. One of the main ways automakers make their cars smoother is by hiding the door handles, designing them so they sit flush with the body and pop out when it’s time to open the door. But this trend could soon be disappearing, at least in China, where the government has passed new legislation banning hidden door handles, as reported by Bloomberg.
The new regulations were published on Monday by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and now require cars sold in China to have a mechanical door release on both the inside and outside. The rule will take effect on January 1, 2027, although vehicles already approved for sale in China and about to be launched have been given a little leeway and won’t have to change their design until January 2029.
The ban covers two separate types of concealed door handles. Those with a press-to-release design, where you press in on one end to pop the lever out, as seen on the Tesla Model Y, are no longer allowed. China is also putting an end to handles that are electrically powered and protrude from the body by themselves, such as those on the Kia EV9.
For semi-concealed handles, where the handle itself is flush with the body but has a recess at the bottom into which you can insert your fingers, the rule specifies that there must be a recessed space of at least 2.5 inches by 0.8 inches where a person’s hand can grip the handle. The law also required cars to have inside vehicle signage indicating how to open the door.
The move comes after several incidents in China, including two cases in which Xiaomi SU7 EVs crashed, caught fire and experienced power outages, preventing people outside the vehicle from opening the doors and rescuing those inside. Although the new regulations only affect electric vehicles sold in China, they could have a broader impact as China is the world’s largest car market.
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Caleb Miller started blogging about cars at the age of 13, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and driver team. He enjoys quirky and obscure cars, with a goal of one day owning something as bizarre as a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsport fan.
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