Versteckte Türgriffe haben der gesamten Automobilbranche eine Lehre beigebracht.

Originally, I thought that with the release of the new national standard, the discussion about hidden door handles would also come to an end. Unexpectedly, due to a recent accident, this design has been dragged back into the center of public opinion.

Regarding the door handles themselves, I think there have already been enough interpretations.

So today, let's change the topic and talk about how this long - standing thing, the hidden door handle, has evolved to what it is today.

You're not mistaken. The hidden door handle is actually not a new thing. It appeared as early as decades ago. And at that time, it was truly a good design.

The first vehicle to use a hidden door handle was the 1947 two - door sports car, the Cisitalia 202. At this time, the hidden door handle was not only not separated from the mechanical structure, but also helped supercars reduce air resistance at extremely high speeds and improve top - speed performance.

This addressed the pain points of many supercars at that time. So, for a long time afterwards, the hidden door handle began to be emulated by many supercar models, such as the Mercedes - Benz 300SL.

1947 Cisitalia 202

In 1997, the Corvette C5 first turned the door handle into a switch. Similar to turning on a light, the car door was controlled through an electrical signal.

By eliminating the cable mechanism, this design not only reduced the force required to open the door but also allowed for a change in the shape of the door handle, making the car look cooler.

Even though it was inconvenient to use, supercars are inherently avant - garde, unconventional, and impractical. So, having some unique door handles seems quite reasonable.

The door - opening buttons of the 1997 Corvette C5 and McLaren

The reversal of the reputation of the hidden door handle occurred when that man decided to build cars.

In 2012, Elon Musk first adopted a pop - out door handle design on the Tesla Model S. For him, choosing a hidden door handle for an electric sedan was almost the optimal solution.

You know, the faster communication speed, more stable frequency, and voltage of the electrified architecture are naturally suitable for electronically controlled door handles (such as quick unlocking via a mobile phone). A simpler assembly can improve production efficiency and save various metal components to reduce the weight of the car (0.5 - 1.5 kilograms per door).

Of course, among the prominent mechanical door handles at that time, this hidden handle looked very cool.

It not only made the car look more like a supercar but also reduced the drag coefficient and improved the range performance (although the improvement was slight, the extremely expensive power batteries at that time amplified this effect).

So, from the Model S to the Cybertruck, Tesla has always used hidden door handles. When you open the car door, you can only see a small amount of communication cables, and there is no Bowden cable responsible for pulling the lock (S and X were upgraded later).

Yes, even the design on the Model 3, which seemingly can be manually unlocked, is essentially only controlled by electrical signals. It can be considered a mechanical - flavored door handle.

However, the problem is that affordable electric vehicles are not supercars that don't care about costs. Due to the high integration and complex structure of hidden door handles, there are obvious reliability issues under Tesla's long - standing quality control.

Many car owners, especially the early owners of the Model S, began to frequently encounter problems such as the handle not popping out, asymmetrical popping on the left and right sides, or even random popping. They had to spend a lot of money on repairs, and some even took the matter to court.

It can be said that from this time on, the controversy over hidden door handles in electric vehicles began to emerge.

Coincidentally, as a promoter of electric vehicles, Tesla managed to sell this kind of door handle design all over the world with annual sales in the millions.

On the one hand, it made car manufacturers around the world realize that "Wow, electric vehicles with hidden door handles can sell so well!"

On the other hand, many suppliers also began to wonder if they came up with more similar solutions, more car manufacturers would place orders.

So, between 2012 and 2017, not only did car manufacturers start to experiment with hidden door handle designs (such as Jaguar and Land Rover), but suppliers like MAGNA, HUF, and Brose also quickly launched many hidden door handle solutions to attract more car manufacturers to spend money.

By 2018, when the new - energy vehicle market in China exploded, the hidden door handle solutions of suppliers had evolved to the second or even third generation. They were not only cooler and more reliable but also, most importantly, cheaper.

Therefore, new - force car manufacturers such as NIO and XPeng, as well as established car manufacturers like Cadillac and Toyota, also started using hidden door handles at that time.

The more car manufacturers use them, the more suppliers will be spurred to launch more solutions.

Under such a continuous cycle, even the most entry - level new - energy vehicle models can now have door handles flush with the car body. The hidden door handle has completed its fission - style spread.

You may think that this process seems very normal. Where there is a demand, there is a solution.

But this is exactly the part I think has the most problems.

From start to finish, the decision of whether to use hidden door handles and how to use them has been entirely made by car manufacturers and suppliers. However, the people who actually drive and use the cars are the customers who pay for them.

May I ask, have you considered the opinions of the users?

Moreover, in this process of simply imitating the form, many underlying safety - related designs have actually been intentionally or unintentionally ignored by car manufacturers and suppliers.

For example, when talking about accidents where the car doors cannot be opened, many people blame the shape of the hidden door handles. However, the bigger problem is that car manufacturers have not made targeted protections for the low - voltage power supply system.

You know, almost all hidden exterior door handles on the market today, regardless of whether they have a mechanical locking structure, rely extremely on a 12V power supply (i.e., the normal operation of the low - voltage power supply) to work stably and safely.

For example, the pop - out hidden door handles commonly used by mainstream brands such as NIO, AITO, and ZEEKR.

Its working principle is that after the vehicle receives a door - opening signal, the domain controller sends signals to the door controller to unlock and pop out the door handle successively. Then, the door controller notifies the door handle motor to rotate, and the hidden door handle is pushed out through a micro - gear or lever mechanism.

As long as the low - voltage power supply system fails at any stage, the door handle cannot pop out normally.

For the electronic door handles used by Xiaomi, Tesla, and Cadillac that do not need to pop out, although they provide an area for users to grip without power drive, to unlock and open the door normally, the domain controller still needs to send an unlocking signal to the door controller first, and then the micro - switch of the door handle sends an instruction to the unlocking mechanism to open the door.

Without the support of the low - voltage power supply, these door handles are no different from a broken switch.

Obviously, the low - voltage power supply system is the lifeline of the hidden door handle.

However, the low - voltage power supply of most vehicle models today, which is the small battery we often mention, is placed in the crash - collapse areas such as in front of the front - cabin firewall and behind the rear - trunk seats due to the design inertia from the era of fuel - powered vehicles. It is not protected by a complex structure like the power battery.