China is poised to ban retractable car door handles by 2027, following a series of fatal crashes that have exposed the dangers of a feature once hailed as a marker of futuristic design.
Flush-mounted handles, popularized by Tesla and copied by numerous electric vehicle makers, are designed to sit flat against the car body until activated by a touch or electronic signal. They were marketed as aerodynamic, stylish, and modern. But growing evidence suggests they are unreliable, expensive to repair, and, in emergencies, deadly.
One year to comply
Draft rules from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) propose a full prohibition on hidden handles, allowing only traditional or semi-recessed versions if they include a clear mechanical release.
Automakers would be given a year to comply, with the ban taking effect in July 2027. The proposals also require that doors unlock automatically in collisions or floods.
Safety concerns have mounted after a string of incidents in which occupants could not escape from vehicles. In one case this month in Germany, three people died when their Tesla crashed and burst into flames. A passerby told reporters he had tried to help but could not open the doors because the handles had melted.
Electrically actuated
China’s own data point to a pattern of failure. National investigators found a 47% rise in accidents linked to faulty handles last year, with hidden versions responsible for more than 80% of cases.
Tests by the China Insurance Automotive Safety Index showed electronic handles opened successfully in just two-thirds of side crashes, compared with almost every time for mechanical ones.
The problem essentially lies with the electrically actuated handles, not the manually folded versions. In the event of a power failure, triggered by an accident, these can become stuck as the e-motors are cut off from power.
German automobile organization ADAC already pointed to possible flaws last year, additionally pointing to the dangerous blocking effect of steel deformation during a lateral impact. However, Euro NCAP, which assesses the opening forces of doors after its crash tests, has not yet registered severe abnormalities.
The design spread rapidly through the industry, embraced by EV start-ups, such as Nio and Xpeng, as well as luxury brands like Jaguar-Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz. But some manufacturers have quietly stepped back.
Volkswagen has preferred semi-retractable handles with built-in redundancy, while Audi has tested models that deploy a red pull cord in crashes to allow rescuers access.
Marginal saving
As for the supposed aerodynamic gains, these should not be overestimated. The marginal saving compared to traditional handles is less than a kilometer of additional range in the case of battery-powered cars. Industry data reveal that the malfunction rate of flush handles is eight times higher.
Flush door handles have sparked debate for some time. But China seems to be the first nation actively pursuing legislative measures. As the world’s largest car market, these rules could ripple across the global industry. If a ban is approved, it remains to be seen whether car manufacturers still find it practical to keep producing them for other markets.
