A sweeping safety recall in China has targeted more than four million electric vehicles, marking the country's largest-ever car recall. The action centers on controversial minimalistic, retractable door handles, which safety advocates and regulators warn can become difficult to locate and operate during emergencies.
The recall affects 2.98 million Chinese-made Tesla vehicles, specifically covering certain Model 3, Model Y, Model S, and Model X vehicles. Other prominent brands caught up in the safety campaign include Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers XPeng, Xiaomi, and Geely. It remains unclear whether any of the affected automakers intend to initiate similar recalls in other global markets.
The design came under intense scrutiny following two fatal crashes in China involving Xiaomi electric vehicles. In those incidents, investigators suspected that power failures prevented the doors from being opened from the outside. In a statement on Friday, Tesla acknowledged that some of its vehicles feature door handles that are "difficult to identify and operate because their colour is similar to the interior trim." The company noted that this design flaw could prevent occupants or emergency responders from quickly opening doors during a severe collision that causes the vehicle's low-voltage system to fail.
To address the issue, Tesla announced plans to apply warning labels to the recalled vehicles and deploy an over-the-air software update designed to automatically roll down the windows following a collision. However, Tu Le, the founder of the consultancy Sino Auto Insights, criticized these measures, describing the warning labels and software patch as more of a "band-aid" than a permanent fix for the underlying safety hazard.
According to Le, the popularity of hidden door handles "snowballed" after domestic Chinese brands rapidly copied the sleek aesthetic introduced by Tesla's Model S sedan starting in 2014. Despite their aesthetic appeal, Chinese authorities moved to ban the design in February. Under new regulatory standards set to take effect on January 1, 2027, vehicles sold in China must feature a physical mechanical release on both the interior and exterior of the doors.
The safety debate surrounding retractable handles extends beyond China. Tesla's door handle designs have previously been the subject of an investigation by US safety regulators, following reports that the handles suddenly stopped functioning and left children trapped inside the vehicles. In response to these concerns, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suggested in July that a new formal safety standard should be established for all automakers.
Minimalistic retractable door handles became a signature feature of electric vehicles (EVs), but the controversial designs are now at the centre of China's biggest car recall, affecting more than 4 million vehicles.
