A ban by the Chinese government on powered door handles in electric vehicles has sparked calls for the same thing to happen in Australia, with the peak safety group leading the charge.
Earlier this month, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology set new requirements which dictated EVs sold in the nation will need to have mechanical releases both inside and outside the doors, rather than hidden handles powered by electric motors.
The change has been made after a handful of crashes which reportedly led to occupants being trapped inside their vehicles, resulting in fire-induced fatalities.
All new cars sold in China from January 1, 2027 will need to comply with the regulations, however those which have already been approved for sale have a grace period until January 1, 2029 to become compliant.
It will have an impact on some of the most popular EVs in the nation such as the Tesla Model Y and Model 3, as well as a number of BYD products, including what’s sold in Australia as the Sealion 7.
The regulations are expected to have flow-on effects in Australia, where nine of the top 10 best-selling EVs locally last year were built in China, and six of which feature concealed, power-opening door handles.
Both Europe and the US have also been mulling changes to door handle regulations, also in the wake of fatal incidents where vehicle occupants have been trapped.
While the Australian government is yet to make a call and follow suit with new regulations, the CEO of the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), Carla Hoorweg, told ABC Radio Melbourne our country should follow suit.
“The concern is warranted; it’s an area where there’s opportunity for the government to sweep up and stop this from happening,” Hoorweg said on Raf Epstein’s Mornings program.
“The evidence that we’ve seen so far – we know the government’s working on regulations, they’re part of the UNUnited Nations rule-making process – but it’s certainly an opportunity where you wouldn’t want to see regulations delayed while other jurisdictions move in this direction.
“[It’s] certainly an area where the regulator should come in and step in, in our view. We’re doing what we can, but we’re voluntary – it’s not mandatory to have an ANCAP safety rating, so we can’t stop cars coming into the country.”
Cars which are sold in Australia receive approval to go on sale if they comply with Australian Design Rules (ADRs), which are partially harmonised with regulations overseas, though not always aligned.
For instance, Australia requires passenger cars with a second row to have a top-tether point for a child seat in every seat with a seatbelt. If there is no top tether point, the car can’t be classified as having that seat as available.
ANCAP meanwhile is an independent body which issues safety ratings to new vehicles, influencing buyers as to how well a car performs in testing, though even a zero-star car can still be on sale.
“From ANCAP’s perspective it has been something that we have been concerned about since we started,” Hoorweg said in the ABC Radio interview.
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“The old manual door handles with no electronics in them, we’ve been looking at [if you] can open the door after a crash, either inside or outside the car.
“And as we’ve seen electric door handles come on board, that’s something we’ve been looking at, and also whether the car’s been submerged in water – you can still open the door handles after a period of time.
“We are seeing this as quite a modern design trend, and it’s not just limited to EVs – people think it’s only EVs, but a lot of petrol and hybrid cars are heading in this direction as well.
“If people are concerned about their particular car, the best thing to do is to contact their dealership and ask them, ‘If I am in a crash, how do I open this manually?’”
In November, ANCAP announced it would follow sister organisation Euro NCAP by introducing new criteria for 2026 to 2028, which includes cars losing points if their electrically operated exterior door handles don’t remain operable after a crash, preventing first responders to help extract occupants.
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