China is considering a ban on retractable door handles, which were popularized by Tesla in the early 2010s. In September 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology began drafting guidelines that could lead to a ban fully retractable door handles by 2027, owing to safety concerns over their usability in emergency situations. Tests in China have revealed that retractable electric handles fail more often than mechanical ones in the event of a side impact, with only a 67% reliability rate compared to 98% for the latter.
The ministry has released a draft document to propose various standards for these handles in the country. The document states that each door in a vehicle should have external handles with a mechanical release. If a vehicle uses an internal electric handle, it must include a mechanical failsafe, allowing the doors to be opened from the outside in case of an accident. The document also lists the specific sizes and locations for these handles, both internally and externally. These new safety requirements are reportedly aiming to standardize where handles are located, create guidelines for door-handle designs, and make sure door handles function when the car loses power.
These recommendations may be a response to incidents where retractable handles failed to open during accidents. A recent example in the U.S. involved a Tesla Cybertruck that caught fire with people trapped inside, while bystanders were unable to open the doors. The victims’ families has since sued Tesla over these alleged design defects.
Issues with retractable door handles
The issues of retractable door handles are not just present in accidents or fires, but also when the car’s battery loses power. Earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initiated an investigation into the Model Y’s door handles following numerous complaints about children being trapped inside. Flush door handles are also susceptible to freezing, which may not allow owners to get in or out, and some Chinese vehicles’ handles have short-circuited in the rain. These handles are also expensive — costing as much as $1,000 per handle — and they break relatively easily, with one high-mileage Tesla needing its door handles replaced seven times. Reports in Chinese media suggest that these handles are likely to break far more often than mechanical ones by as much as eight times.
Chinese authorities aren’t the only ones reviewing the design and functionality of these door handles, as the General German Automobile Club has also raised concerns about their performance. Even the United Nations has taken note of the alarming rise in deaths caused by people being unable to escape from trapped cars, and its experts have recommended that door mechanisms remain functional in the event of a power loss.
Even automakers aren’t enthusiastic about retractable door handles. Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer says they look good but are poor to use, hinting that the company could revert to mechanical handles in the future. Tesla is also seemingly in the process of changing the design of its handles, giving more options for people in emergency situations.
