- China will ban retractable EV door handles on new vehicles starting January 2027.
- Mechanical emergency releases will be mandatory for both interior and exterior door handles.
- Tesla and other automakers must redesign handles to meet new safety standards.
This is such an obvious safety necessity, i have to wonder how it was not yet regulation. Electronics can fail. Power supply can be lost for whatever reason. A mechanical mechanism is far more reliable and less prone to failure if well maintained (nothing rusted, bent or corroded). And i think this should apply to more things than just car doors. Any truly essential system should have an analog/mechanical backup.
obviously this should’ve been regulated the second these cars went to market but the idea of these doors is so contrary to common sense it’s not surprising there wasn’t a rule on the books beforehand
To me, the potentially catastrophic problem of a motorized door latch failing was immediately apparent. But I’m someone who will drive a car until it’s an unusable pile of rust. I would definitely have this problem at some point. I’m thinking that I’m not the type of person these cars are marketed to.