China will ban vehicle doors with electronic locking from 2027

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, better known in the West by its acronym MIIT, has just given the green light to a measure that will put an end to retractable, fully electronic door handles on vehicles sold in this Asian country.

From 1 January 2027, no new vehicle will be allowed to be registered or sold in China if it features this type of door handle. This will create considerable problems in the engineering departments of many manufacturers, as quite a few vehicles use them.

This decision by the Chinese authorities seeks to address the concerns of many drivers about the safety of this type of electronic door release. In the event of an accident, collision or electrical battery failure, these electronic handles may in some cases fail to work properly due to the lack of power, leaving the occupants trapped inside the vehicle. Without a redundant mechanical system that engages in these situations, the consequences can be fatal, as has already happened in some isolated real cases.

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The new regulation, which will come into force at the start of next year, requires that all doors -excluding the boot- have manual opening mechanisms both from the inside and from the outside. In addition, a sufficiently wide and ergonomic recess will be required to grip the handle from outside, along with clear and visible labels showing how to open the door in an emergency. Electronic locks may still exist, but there must always be a fully mechanical redundant system that does not require electrical power.

It is important to point out, however, that those vehicle models that have already received approval for sale on the Chinese market, or that are in the final stages of type approval, will enjoy a longer transition period and may continue to be sold with their current design using fully electronic handles until 1 January 2029, from which date they must mandatorily comply.

This change especially affects electric vehicles, in which retractable handles have become popular for aerodynamic reasons, thereby improving their efficiency and consequently increasing their range. Some of these vehicles use emergency mechanical systems via hidden cables or levers, but in many cases these are too complicated to use, especially in a stressful situation after an accident.

It remains to be seen whether this bold step taken by the Chinese authorities will also end up affecting the development of vehicles sold in other markets. Typically in these cases, manufacturers opt for solutions that adapt to the strictest regulations, so that they can sell global versions of their vehicles without having to make modifications for specific markets, which is why retractable handles will very likely become a thing of the past and redundant mechanical systems the new industry standard.