China issues ban on flush door handles, will start from 2027
Words: Andrew Sluys
China has moved to ban hidden or flush door handles from all new locally manufactured vehicles.
This new ruling, which was announced last week by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, will come into effect from January 1, 2027.
Manufacturers with vehicles already approved for production will have until January 2029 to make the changes.
Flush door handles first came into the automotive mainstream with Tesla’s early Model S and Model X vehicles.
Though they offer benefits in terms of design and aerodynamics, safety concerns around their use on electric vehicles have led to this ban.
These concerns have arisen around victims being trapped inside vehicles following collisions.
Speaking on the ruling, Chris Liu of Omdia spoke to AP how it wouldn’t be a surprise to see other countries follow suit.
“China is the first major automotive market to explicitly ban electrical pop-out and press-to-release hidden door handles,” he said. “While other regions have flagged safety concerns, China is the first to formalize this into a national safety standard.”
The new regulations out of China state there must be a recess of at least 60mm by 20mm behind the handle.
There must also be clear interior signage showing exactly how to operate the handle.
