Ban Pop-Out Door Handles On Cars: Chinese Govt Regulators

Written By: Utkarsh Deshmukh
Published: September 9, 2025 at 04:42 PMUpdated: Updated: September 9, 2025 at 04:42 PM
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Over the last few years, we have seen the rise of pop-out door handles or flush-type door handles in India as well as across the globe. Many believe that they look very futuristic, sleek, and are aerodynamically more efficient. However, there are a lot of people who think that these flush-type door handles are unreliable and pose a safety risk when it comes to accidents and other situations. Recently, it has been reported that Chinese regulators are planning to fully ban these pop-out door handles.

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China to ban pop-out door handles on cars

As per reports from the Chinese media, the Chinese authorities are preparing to ban fully hidden, retractable exterior door handles. This ban will be levied on all automakers that sell vehicles in China. It has been stated that the new rules might allow semi-retractable or traditional handles only if they have a mechanical backup or a redundant release mechanism.

Presently, this particular ban has not been imposed by the government of China. However, automakers in the country have been alerted and advised to align their new door handle designs in advance.

As per reports, the draft regulation banning these flush-type door handles is expected to be finalized by September 2025. The enforcement of this ban will take place from July 2027, giving the automakers a year to transition.

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Why are pop-out door handles being banned in China?

Over the last few years, there have been numerous incidents where these pop-out door handles have failed during accidents. As a result, the evacuation of victims became harder, and some of them even had fatalities. Last year, in April, an Aito M7 Crossover in China reversed into a truck, resulting in a fire.

Following this, when the authorities reached the spot to rescue the occupants of the vehicle, the failure of pop-out door handles led to fatalities. Also, last year in China, when the temperatures reached below freezing points, the door handle motors stopped working, and this event was named the “frozen door” event.

Flush-type door handles and their risks

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As per studies, it has been found that pop-out door handles have a 67 percent success rate when it comes to side collisions. Meanwhile, under the same conditions, the success rate of mechanical door handles is 98 percent. NAIS data has also shown that there was a 47 percent increase in accidents due to door handle failures, and 82 percent were linked with hidden handles.

What is even more shocking is that there has been an increase of 132 percent in complaints about children’s fingers getting injured by hidden handles. It has been found that fully retractable door handles are prone to failure during emergencies, accidents, power losses, and fires. As a result, they severely obstruct escape routes.

Additionally, it has also been found that the efficiency of the drag coefficient, which is reported to be around 0.03 Cd, is not true. In reality, it is around 0.005–0.01 Cd. Lastly, the energy saving (in terms of EVs) from these door handles is negligible. Even if there are any benefits of these door handles on performance, they are offset by the 7–8 kg of added weight due to their mechanism.

Could India see a similar ban?

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At the moment, a majority of the vehicles sold in India still offer traditional pull-type door handles. However, as the number of modern and high-end vehicles offering flush-type door handles is increasing, potentially in the future, India could also see a similar ban on such door handles.

Presently, it is not a huge issue in India as there are not enough cars that have such door handles. But there's a growing trend of automakers offering pop-out (flush-fitting) door handles as standard on new cars. So, the Indian government may also consider a similar ban. We are totally in favour of the ban given how inconvenient and unsafe such door handles are.

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