Electric door handles recessed into the side of the car are becoming increasingly popular with manufacturers. It is an elegant solution that also helps to reduce the aerodynamic resistance of the body. This comes in handy especially with electric cars, where every hundredth plays a role.
However, China has now decided to strictly ban this element. The reason is a number of fatal accidents in which it was impossible to get into the car quickly precisely because of the electric handles and the absence of a mechanical opening. O the ban on this equipment has been talked about since autumn, was included in the draft of the Chinese ministries in December and will enter into force from 2027.
Lawmakers there say that from 2024, the number of complaints about these hi-tech handles will increase. In China, for example, there was a traffic accident in which several passengers in the car died because the witnesses could not get into the car because of the handles. That was in October, another similar accident followed a few weeks later. In both cases it was said to be the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra.
Photo: Jakub Misík
Retractable handles (in the picture provided by BYD) have a utrum from 2027.
The possibility of mechanically opening the doors of this car can be found in the interior. “But when the rescuers break the window, they can’t reach the handle,” a source familiar with the details of one of the traffic accidents explained the curious situation to The Paper magazine.
The new regulation requires every passenger car weighing up to 3.5 tons to use door handles that retain mechanical functionality and the ability to open easily after an accident. Now it’s up to the manufacturers to deal with it in a relatively short time. However, it is almost certain that the Chinese ban will also affect the design of European cars. Automakers will certainly want to use one universal solution for all markets as part of savings.
Today, electrically retractable door handles can be found, for example, on the BYD Seal or Tesla Model S models. However, elegant recessed handles can also be made “postara”, i.e. with mechanical opening. The electric BMW i4, for example, cleverly solves this element.
