Starting in 2027, China will ban electric flush door handles, a feature increasingly common in modern vehicles. This decision follows numerous severe accidents where occupants and rescue teams were unable to open doors post-collision.
The first sign of this change emerged in mid-December 2025 when China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology proposed a new draft regulation. It mandates that all passenger vehicles under 3.5 tons must retain mechanical door functionality after accidents. Specifically, all vehicles must feature interior and exterior door handles with mechanical opening mechanisms, ensuring usability even without power or severe damage.
This regulation is a welcome relief for rescue teams, who increasingly struggle to swiftly extract passengers from modern electric vehicles post-collision.
Electric flush door handles, popularized by models like the Tesla Model S and BYD Seal, have become a design hallmark of many modern electric vehicles in China. Tesla’s button-operated handles on the Model 3 and Model Y also fall into this category.
The appeal of these door handles lies primarily in their aerodynamic benefits, offering slight improvements in vehicle range. However, since 2024, an increasing number of car owners have complained about these handles. Not only do they become difficult to operate after accidents, but they can also malfunction in cold weather.
Hidden door handles offer a sleeker, more seamless design while reducing drag coefficients.
Several severe accidents involving flush door handles have occurred in China recently. On October 13, 2025, occupants of a crashed vehicle in Chengdu died because bystanders couldn’t open the doors. Similarly, three people perished in another accident in Tongling. According to Sixth Tone, both incidents involved the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra electric vehicle.
“The interior doors use buttons, rendering them inoperable without power. The SU7’s mechanical interior handles are also difficult to locate for occupants. Even after breaking the glass, rescuers struggled to access these handles,” a source told The Paper following one of the accidents.
Speculation about China banning these door handles began in September 2025. While manufacturers often promote hidden handles for efficiency, the actual benefits may be negligible. Reports suggest that the reduction in drag coefficients from hidden handles is typically only 0.005–0.01 Cd, equivalent to saving approximately 0.6 kWh/100 km.
China’s ban will have global implications. The country has surpassed Japan as the world’s largest automobile exporter. As domestic brands are forced to abandon these handles in their home market, they will likely implement similar changes in export models.
Similarly, Western automakers selling vehicles in China may need to adjust their global designs to comply with the new standards and optimize production costs.
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