China launches biggest ever auto recall campaign over door handle safety

Eleven carmakers, among them Tesla and Xiaomi, rolled out software updates and vehicle recalls on Friday, as disclosed by the companies and reported by Business Recorder. The action is being described as the biggest recall drive the country has seen, and it targets emergency door-release mechanisms in electric vehicles. Regulators are tightening their review of those systems as Beijing increases oversight of the sector.

Most of the recalls concern the possibility that manual emergency door handles are hard to find or operate in a crisis. Nine of the 11 companies, Tesla and Xiaomi included, will attach warning labels to the handles at no cost to owners, and most will also push software updates to vehicles. Tesla told the State Administration for Market Regulation that it would recall 2.98 million imported and China-made Model 3, Model Y, Model S and Model X cars from September 25.

Tesla linked the problem to a severe collision combined with an electrical failure, which could hamper escape or rescue efforts, and its fix includes an update that lowers windows automatically after a crash. China is also set to ban concealed door handles from 2027, the first such move by any country. The handles open through a key fob, a smartphone or a press mechanism, and have drawn scrutiny in China and the United States.