China Puts an End to Pop-Out Door Handles
Not everything that glitters in the automotive world is destined to last. China’s regulators have turned their sights on one of the most fashionable design cues of recent years: the sleek, flush-fitting pop-out door handle. Once seen as a pinnacle of modern automotive styling, these retractable handles are now under fire for being impractical in winter and unreliable in emergencies.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is drafting rules that would prohibit fully retractable door handles on new cars starting in June 2027. Although the measure is not yet formally ratified, the direction is clear, and manufacturers are already preparing to phase them out. Semi-flush designs may survive the cut, but only if they include a mechanical release. Purely electric solutions will no longer be sufficient.
The reasoning is straightforward and rooted in real-world failures. In cold weather, pop-out handles have been known to freeze shut or fail when the car’s battery is weak. In side-impact collisions, they often refuse to deploy, where a conventional handle would still function. Workshops report that these mechanisms cost three times as much as standard handles and break three times as often, with warranty claims piling up, particularly among EVs. Chinese media has also highlighted accidents involving children whose fingers became trapped when the handles retracted unexpectedly.
Aesthetically, few would deny their appeal, and engineers admit they offer a modest aerodynamic benefit. But the gains are marginal at best, and far outweighed by the safety risks and repair costs. Even automakers agree. Great Wall and others have already confirmed they are abandoning the design, citing both looming regulations and the fading of the trend itself.
What comes next is likely a return to partially exposed, more traditional handles—augmented with mechanical backup systems in the name of safety. Style alone cannot carry the day when the first frost or a serious crash renders a handle useless. China’s move will almost certainly reverberate beyond its borders, pushing other regulators to consider similar bans.
Pop-out handles may still sparkle on a handful of new models today, but their glow is fading fast. The message from Beijing is clear: fashion must never come at the expense of safety.
