China readies strict new car door safety regulations

China could soon enforce much stricter regulations and guidelines around the use of power-operated car doors and concealed – or flush – exterior door handles following safety concerns and reports of entrapment thought to be caused by the modern tech. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has drafted the mandatory national standard and is now requesting public opinion.

Extensive research involving more than 20 car brands and 63 vehicle models has resulted in new vehicle regulations being drafted in China in a bid to establish safety baselines and guide manufacturers to improve car door handle design.

As reported by CarNewsChina, the draft mandatory national standards were released by MIIT this week and are said to focus on three key areas: regulating door handle structural types, ensuring release methods maintain functionality during power loss, and standardising handle placement with clear safety markings.

According to the draft, some of the key requirements include:

It also states that external door handles must provide adequate hand operation space of at least 60mm x 20mm x 25mm, regardless of the handle position.

Essentially, it means vehicles with exterior door handles that retract into the body work for aerodynamic efficiency (as per many EVs), must remain operable if the vehicle loses ancillary power.

Similarly, occupants inside a vehicle with power-operated door mechanisms (like a Tesla) must have a mechanical emergency release; in other words, a means to easily escape the vehicle.

There are around 65,000 Teslas on the road in Australia without internal manual releases for the rear doors.

In an interview with CNAutoNews, Rong Hui, the deputy director of the China Automotive Standardisation Research Institute, said the new requirements address industry pain points while balancing tech advancements with safety concerns.

“With the development of automotive electrification, electric concealed door handles have been widely adopted, and the operation methods and structural types of door handle products on the market are increasingly diverse,” he said.

“These standards aimed to respond to new technologies and safety requirements”.

It follows last week’s news of safety regulators in the US launching an investigation into Tesla over the use of power-operated door handles after reports of children being trapped in Model Ys surfaced.

The technology – which can be found on a range of modern EVs as well as sports cars – is thought to have contributed to at least several deaths over the years.

Now, the new regulations in China – the world’s largest manufacturer of vehicles – could prompt other countries to review their vehicle regulations.

Here in Australia, there are no road vehicle regulations specific to the technology, despite the fact there are more than 100,000 vehicles on Aussie roads featuring it.

Meantime, ANCAP has confirmed it will add powered car door testing to its protocols in 2026.

The move will also prompt car manufacturers to review modern car door designs, something Tesla design chief Franz von Holzhausen recently conceded the US electric vehicle maker was already looking into, in a podcast with Bloomberg.

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au