China Drafts 2027 Ban on Electric-Only Retractable Car Door Handles

Overview

• MIIT’s draft regulation would take effect on January 1, 2027 and follows months of public consultation in the world’s largest car market.
• The standard targets failure modes of electric-only handles by requiring mechanical releases that work without power and by specifying hand space and placement.
• Reports cite safety incidents, including a Bloomberg analysis linking more than a dozen deaths and a 2025 Xiaomi SU7 fatal crash in China.
• CarNewsChina reports staged compliance: roughly 25 months for existing models, 13 months for certain new-model positioning rules, with other requirements effective immediately.
• Automakers using flush, power-operated designs face redesigns, with Tesla singled out as particularly affected, while U.S. probes into Tesla handle failures continue separately.