The Pros and Cons of Hidden Door Handles: Revealing the Truth with Industry Data

"Bang!" A loud noise erupted, and the vehicle was instantly deformed. When you're trapped in a smoke - filled car, passers - by may want to rescue you but don't know how to open the door!

Whenever a serious collision accident occurs to a new energy vehicle, several brands always end up on the hot search list. But let's put aside our emotions and look at it rationally. The focus of the problem points to the same technology - the hidden door handle. Just take a look at the sales data from the past year. More than 3.5 million vehicles with hidden or semi - hidden door handles were sold. Is this little door handle an extreme cost - cutting measure by car manufacturers, or a design consideration for functionality? In this issue of Phoenix Auto Research Institute, let's go beyond emotions and rationally analyze the pros and cons of hidden door handles.

The Origin and Current Situation of Hidden Door Handles

The hidden door handle is not a very new design. Its history can be traced back to the 1950s. The Mercedes - Benz 300SL racing car with gull - wing doors used it. In the following decades, we could often see it on some supercars or racing cars that pursue the ultimate.

Its functions are reflected in the two major directions pursued by supercars - ultimate design aesthetics and better aerodynamics. Compared with traditional mechanical door handles, it won't damage the aesthetic lines of the car door and can also optimize the wind resistance when the vehicle is moving.

It was Tesla, a brand we're familiar with, that really brought it into the mainstream and popularized it. As a pioneer in the electric era, Tesla used electronically controlled hidden door handles on the Model S and Model X, making this design a synonym for "technological sense". After that, with the popularity of the Model 3 and Model Y, countless car manufacturers rushed to learn and imitate, and hidden door handles became extremely popular.

Just Tesla alone has sold more than 3 million vehicles with hidden door handles in China. In addition, models under new - force brands such as Li Auto, NIO, XPeng, Xiaomi, ZEEKR, and Leapmotor are almost all standard - equipped with hidden door handles. Data shows that in 2025, the proportion of new energy vehicles equipped with non - mechanical door handles reached 38.9%. Even if we don't limit the power form, the proportion of newly launched SUV models equipped with electric door handles has reached 21.5%.

First of all, we can be sure of one thing: using hidden door handles is not to save costs. The unit price of traditional mechanical door handles is usually in the range of 30 - 50 yuan, while the cost of a single set of electric door handle systems can reach 300 - 600 yuan. In high - end models, this cost can even exceed 1000 yuan.

Looking at the models, hidden door handles are still rarely seen in mid - and low - end fuel - powered cars that are extremely sensitive to costs. However, flagship fuel - powered cars worth millions, such as the Range Rover and the Mercedes - Benz S - Class, are already equipped with hidden door handles. It's obviously untenable to say that hidden door handles are a cost - cutting measure.

Image | The hidden door handle of the Mercedes - Benz S - Class

Do Hidden Door Handles Pose Safety Risks?

To answer this question, we first need to clarify the forms of hidden door handles: you may have seen electric retractable, push - to - pop, semi - hidden recessed, and other special forms like button - operated ones.

Image | The electric button door opening of Jiyue Auto

When it comes to safety, the biggest controversy about hidden door handles is whether they can still be used normally after a collision causes a power outage. Therefore, we only need to divide hidden door handles into two major categories: electronic unlocking and mechanical unlocking. The hidden door handles attacked by public opinion clearly refer to those with electronic unlocking designs. When the vehicle's battery fails or the circuit is completely cut off, this type of door handle may prevent the door from being opened.

But this is not enough to say that it is more dangerous than traditional mechanical door handles. Tesla, which uses electronically unlocked hidden door handles across the board, has achieved excellent test results in the most rigorous collision tests such as C - NCAP and IIHS. As latecomers, domestic new - force brands such as XPeng, Xiaomi, and ZEEKR have generally borrowed Tesla's design and also performed well in tests like C - NCAP, meeting national standards.

Image | The semi - hidden door handle of the Xiaomi SU7

Analyzing Tesla's door lock design, it is equipped with an electronic lock and an emergency mechanical unlocking device inside the car, but only provides an electronic lock outside the car. It's not hard to imagine that when the power supply is completely cut off, it may be impossible to unlock the door from the outside. Does this prove that it is more dangerous than mechanical door handles?

This design has the risk of being unable to unlock in extreme scenarios, but counter - intuitively, it is even safer than traditional mechanical door handles in some specific scenarios. Because the transmission speed of electrical signals is much faster than that of mechanical structures. It can also be defined by software to unlock directly when a collision occurs.

So, although we've seen some widely - spread accident cases, there is no data to show that hidden door handles are more dangerous or safer. Those extreme accident cases only illustrate one fact: hidden door handles with electronic unlocking like Tesla's are definitely not foolproof; they are not perfect. Those once - unsolvable extreme scenarios are exactly the directions that the industry will try to break through next.

How to Create a Safer Door Unlocking Device

We investigated models under several different brands, each of which is often on the hot search list. From them, we can see the designs of hidden door handles from different periods and with different ideas.

Tesla's models are generally equipped with a mechanical emergency handle inside the car, and there is no additional safety redundancy outside the car. New - force brands, including XPeng, ZEEKR, and the Xiaomi SU7, have learned Tesla's door - opening method. Judging from the sales volume, this design is the mainstream in the market and meets the current safety regulations.

Image | The mechanical door lock handle inside the Tesla Model Y

In September this year, the mandatory national standard "Safety Technical Requirements for Automobile Door Handles" began to solicit public opinions. The standard clearly requires that each door (excluding the tailgate) should be equipped with an outside door handle with a mechanical release function; when the locking device is in the locked state and an accident such as the deployment of an irreversible restraint device or a power battery thermal event occurs, the non - collision side doors should be able to be opened through the outside door handle without the aid of tools. Using a door handle design similar to Tesla's obviously no longer meets the requirements of this standard.

Many new energy car manufacturers have realized the problem in advance. For example, the Xiaomi YU7 and the AITO M8 are equipped with a mechanical unlocking circuit on the basis of the electronically unlocked door handle, meeting the national standard requirements in advance. They are even equipped with a CPM backup capacitor, which can provide an additional 48 - hour power supply for the door handle when the battery is powered off. In addition, the NIO ET9 has a backup battery in the trunk in addition to the front - cabin battery. These efforts are to ensure safety in extreme scenarios.

The innovative designs of car manufacturers have raised the upper limit of safety for the industry. The upcoming new standard will strengthen the lower limit of safety for the industry. Recently launched models such as the new AITO M7 and the ZEEKR 9X have changed or retained their door handles as semi - hidden or traditional exposed door handles.

Hidden door handles won't disappear due to the controversy. With technological iteration and standard improvement, their forms may continue to be optimized, but the core logic remains the same - to find the best balance between design innovation and safety redundancy.

True technological progress should not only change the way of life through innovation but also safeguard life safety with rigor. In the wave of the transformation of the automotive industry towards intelligence and electrification, the evolution of hidden door handles is just a microcosm. We look forward to more car manufacturers focusing on user safety and launching designs that combine innovation and reliability, so that automotive technology can continue to mature through breakthroughs.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Phoenix Tech". Author: Phoenix Tech. Republished by 36Kr with permission.