Tesla And Eight Other Automakers Recall 4.3 Million Cars In China Over Door Handles

BEIJING —

Tesla and eight other automakers said Friday they will recall a combined total of about 4.3 million vehicles in China because emergency door handles may be difficult to open after a crash, according to Reuters, marking the largest auto recall in the country's history.

Tesla's share of that total is the biggest: about 2.98 million imported and China-made Model 3, Model Y, Model S and Model X vehicles built between March 4, 2019, and April 29, 2026, according to a notice from China's State Administration for Market Regulation. The recall covers vehicles with mechanical emergency door releases that Tesla itself said, in the notice, could be hard to find after a severe collision knocks out the car's electrical system, potentially trapping occupants or blocking rescuers. Tesla will send free warning labels to owners and push a software update, starting September 25, that automatically lowers the windows after a crash is detected.

Tesla separately recalled some China-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles built between March 2019 and December 2025 to fix driver attention monitoring systems, CNBC reported. The company will add in-cabin camera monitoring to its existing steering-wheel sensors, delivered over the air, and have service centers contact owners of cars that cannot get the update remotely.

A Design China Is Phasing Out

Xiaomi, the Chinese technology company that also builds electric cars, is recalling about 390,000 vehicles, its largest recall on record, according to Reuters. Leapmotor is recalling roughly 371,000 vehicles and Xpeng about 264,000, both also their biggest ever. Geely is recalling a smaller number under the same defect. All nine companies use the flush, electronically operated handles that Tesla made popular and that many Chinese electric vehicle makers later adopted.

China has said it will ban concealed door handles outright starting in 2027, the first country to do so, according to the Guardian. The move follows several cases in which trapped occupants could not escape burning cars, including the death of a driver in a Xiaomi SU7 sedan after an October 2025 crash, which Chinese state media reported passers-by could not free him from because the doors would not open.

Cui Dongshu, head of the China Passenger Car Association, called the recall wave "an inevitable step" for the industry and said automakers were "being responsible" by shifting to a "safety-first" approach, according to the Guardian. "This represents, in part, the growing pains of the industry," he said. "At the same time, however, this move signifies a policy-driven safety upgrade."

Limited Cost, Global Questions

Sam Fiorani, a vice president at the research firm AutoForecast Solutions, told Reuters the financial hit to automakers should be modest since most fixes are delivered remotely rather than through in-person repairs. Leapmotor said in a statement that its recall involves only a warning label and a power-window software update, adding it was "managing and filing it in accordance with the recall process out of a sense of responsibility to" its users.

The same handle design has drawn attention from US regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in July it would consider a new rule requiring a clear way for occupants to escape vehicles during electrical failures, according to CNBC. The agency said late Friday that no automaker has told it of plans for a similar recall in the United States. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters, the Guardian or CNBC.