Millions of Teslas recalled in China over door handle safety

Beijing's national market watchdog announced on Friday that Tesla is recalling nearly three million vehicles in China due to safety concerns with their interior door handles. These handles, which have a color similar to the interior, could hinder a person's ability to exit their vehicle quickly in an emergency. The recall, which begins on September 25, includes 2.9 million domestically produced Model 3 and Model Y electric cars, as well as around 46,000 imported Model 3, Model X, and Model S cars.

This recall follows China's plan to ban hidden door handles on cars from January 1, 2027. Eight Chinese carmakers, including Xiaomi, XPeng, Geely, Chery, and Leapmotor, are also recalling vehicles with similar handles. Xiaomi began recalling about 390,000 units of its 2024 SU7 series, and XPeng started recalling nearly 265,000 cars.

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

Geely is recalling approximately 92,000 cars from its luxury brand Zeekr starting on Monday. The Chinese automakers are offering to attach warning labels near the handles for free, and some are planning to remotely upgrade software related to lowering windows after a crash. The safety concerns have grown recently in China due to sleek car designs that may lose operability in the event of a crash.