Hidden car door handles officially banned in China, effective January 2027

As reported by Bloomberg, China has officially implemented a ruling outlawing concealed car door handles, which will take effect on January 1^st, 2027. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued new safety rules mandating that cars sold in China will be required to have a mechanical release for both the outside and inside of the vehicle. However, cars that have already been approved for sale have until January 2029 to change their designs.

Initially, concealed door handles were designed to maximise aerodynamics of the vehicle, thus improving its range, which is very crucial for fully electric vehicles. The handles were designed to sit flush with the bodywork, extended or pop out when it’s time to open the door. There are two types of concealed door handles that are banned. A push-to-release design by pushing one end to make the handle pop out (seen on the Leapmotor C10), and the electrically powered door handles that extend from the bodywork (seen on the Kia EV9).

For semi-hidden door handles where the handle sits flush in the bodywork but has a carve out below to insert your fingers (seen on the Proton e.MAS 5), the recessed space now must be at least 2.5 cm by 6 cm. Inside the vehicle, the law also mandates having a sign indicating how to open the door.

This move was made due to several incidents in China, where electric vehicles with concealed door handles crashed, caught on fire, and experienced power failures, preventing people on the outside from opening the doors to save the driver and passengers inside. For now, the new regulations only pertain to electric vehicles sold in China, but could have a broader effect as China is the world’s largest automotive market.