China releases draft on door handle design following Tesla scrutiny

China’s regulatory agency handling automotive concerns has released a draft on what it is considering to be standard for door handle designs on vehicles, following some scrutiny it placed upon Tesla’s designs.

Over the past few weeks, we have reported on two different criticisms Tesla has faced with its door handle designs, one in China and one in the United States. Both will require the company to come up with solutions and potentially new engineering.

Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen appeared on Bloomberg last week and said the company is already looking to implement something that will bring together the mechanical and electrical releases that the door handles depend on.

Tesla addresses door handle complaints with simple engineering fix

Some vehicles in the Tesla lineup already have mechanical latches on all four doors to enable them to open in the event of a dead battery. However, there are some additional measures that need to be taken.

The first guidelines are being released by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), which composed a draft called “Technical Requirements for Automobile Door Handle Safety.”

It sounds like some changes will be coming to Tesla’s door handles in China

The MIIT wrote in a new case study that it’s requiring a change to prevent getting locked in the car:

“[The] operating space must be ≥60mm×20mm×25mm (roughly the space for a palm to maneuver).” https://t.co/IYkruyzogI

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There are a handful of new standards, including a required mechanical release for every door on the vehicle apart from the trunk. Additionally, there are some other requirements, such as the ability to open side doors from the external handles without the use of tools.

Here are the six guidelines that the MIIT are mulling as requirements (via CarNewsChina):

Every door (excluding trunk lids) must feature an external handle with mechanical release functionality
In case of accidents involving battery thermal events, non-collision side doors must be openable through external handles without tools
External door handles must provide adequate hand operation space of at least 60mm×20mm×25mm, regardless of handle position
Every door must include internal handles with mechanical release capability that can open doors without external tools
If electric internal handles are installed, mechanical backup handles must also be provided
Internal handles must be easily identifiable, clearly visible, positioned within 300mm of door edges, and located within specific zones relative to seating positions

These new standards were developed by the China Automotive Standardization Research Institute, and Deputy Director Rong Hui stated that the organization used 63 vehicle models from 20 different companies to establish these early requirements:

“With the development of automotive electrification, electric concealed door handles have been widely adopted, and the operation methods and structural types of door handle products on the market are increasingly diverse. These standards aim to respond to new technologies and safety requirements.”

The MIIT also did its own research, which utilized 230 different vehicle models’ door handle configurations. Validation testing was performed on more than 20 models.

Tesla’s Planned Adjustments

Based on what von Holzhausen said, Tesla plans to make some adjustments to its door handles, implementing simple fixes.

Tesla plans to combine both the mechanical and electrical releases to help reduce stress in “panic situations.” Franz said the company has a “really good solution for that.”

In regard to the mechanical release, he said, “it’s in the cars now…The idea of combining the electronic and the manual one together in one button, I think, makes a lot of sense.”

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