Recently, electric vehicles have come under increased scrutiny from regulators worldwide due to several tragic incidents, including two accidents involving Xiaomi cars in China, where a failure of the electrical system prevented the doors from opening.
According to new regulations that will come into effect on January 1, 2027, cars can only be sold if they have a mechanical system for opening doors from both the outside and the inside. These rules were approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China.
Each passenger door of the car, except for the trunk, must have a recess that provides access to the door handle opening mechanism. Additionally, there must be indicators inside the car explaining how to manually open the doors.
Cars that have already received market approval will be granted an additional two years to upgrade their door opening mechanisms.
Hidden electronic door handles were first introduced in 2012 on the Tesla Model S and quickly gained popularity among Chinese manufacturers seeking high-tech solutions.
According to China Daily, "invisible" handles are used on about 60% of the top 100 best-selling cars with partially or fully electric drive (NEV) in China.
Although the new requirements apply only to the Chinese market, experts believe they may affect automakers worldwide, prompting them to reconsider their door designs. This is because China is actively seeking to take a leading role in developing standards for the international electric vehicle market.
As noted by Tu Le, founder of Sino Auto Insights, manufacturers like Tesla and Kia will have to decide whether to make changes only to models for China or apply them globally. This could create challenges for many companies with unified global designs that will now need to be adapted.
In the United States, investigations into door design issues with Tesla have already begun, and in Europe, potential new regulations are being considered.
In November, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched an investigation into Tesla's electric door handles following reports that they unexpectedly malfunctioned, leaving children trapped inside vehicles. Of the nine complaints received by NHTSA regarding the 2021 Tesla Model Y, in four cases, owners had to break windows to resolve the issue.
