China bans hidden door handles in electric vehicles in major blow to Elon Musk’s Tesla
Country bans trendy car door handles with other nations expected to follow suit
- China is banning hidden door handles on cars starting next year and regulators in Europe are expected to follow suit.
- The new rules mandate that all passenger cars must have mechanical release handles on both the interior and exterior of every door to improve emergency access.
- This policy, the world's first explicitly banning a specific design feature on safety grounds, follows a series of accidents where rescuers struggled to open vehicles with electronically operated or hidden handles.
- The regulation is expected to significantly impact EV manufacturers, particularly Tesla, whose vehicles popularized sleek, flush-fitting handles to enhance aerodynamics.
- Regulators in Europe and elsewhere will likely align with China’s approach, Chris Liu, a Shanghai-based senior analyst at technology research and advisory group Omdia, said.
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