Millions of Teslas recalled in China over door handle safety

BEIJING: Tesla is recalling nearly three million cars in China with interior door handles that could hamper a person's ability to exit their vehicle in an emergency, Beijing's national market watchdog said.

Eight Chinese carmakers also filed recalls over similar safety risks, China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) announced on Friday (Aug 21).

Some recalls were effective immediately, while others began over the weekend and on Monday.

Tesla's recall involves 2.9 million domestically-made units of its Model 3 and Model Y electric cars and begins on Sep 25.

The US carmaker - which operates a huge factory in Shanghai - is also recalling around 46,000 imported units of its Model 3, Model X and Model S cars, the SAMR announcement said.

The recalled cars have inner emergency mechanical handles "similar in colour to the interior, making them difficult to identify and operate" in emergencies, the watchdog said.

In Tesla's Model 3, for example, passengers must reach into a compartment inside the door pocket and find a release cable to manually open the rear door, according to the company's website.

"In extreme situations such as severe collisions causing the vehicle's low-voltage system to fail, (the handles) may affect passengers' ability to quickly open car doors for escape and rescue operations outside the vehicle," SAMR said.

SAMR said Tesla was separately recalling 2.7 million domestically-made Model 3 and Model Y EVs over issues with monitoring systems while a driver is using steering assist functions.

It was not clear whether some Teslas were counted in both recalls.

Chinese EV makers including Xiaomi, XPeng, Geely, Chery and Leapmotor are also recalling cars with handles that blend in with their interior.

Xiaomi began recalling around 390,000 units of its 2024 SU7 series on Friday, and XPeng started recalling nearly 265,000 cars on Saturday.

Beijing-based BAIC BluePark, a subsidiary of state-owned automaker BAIC, on Saturday began recalling around 46,000 Arcfox Kaola EVs over a "lack of dedicated text prompts" near the emergency mechanism on its right rear sliding door.

Beginning on Monday, Geely is recalling around 92,000 cars from its luxury brand Zeekr.

Companies offered to attach warning labels near the handles for free, and some said they would remotely upgrade software involving lowering windows after a crash.

Safety concerns have risen in China recently over sleek car designs that are prone to losing operability in the event of a crash.

The mass recalls are in line with China's plan to ban hidden door handles on cars from Jan 1, 2027, local media reports said.

Those rules, announced in February by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, will require door handles to have both interior and exterior mechanical releases.

Electronic door handles were introduced with Tesla's 2012 launch of the Model S, later becoming popular with Chinese EV brands prioritising high-tech features.

Folding into the body of the car, such door handles provide a slight boost to efficiency by reducing drag while the vehicle is in motion.