Tesla forced to recall record 3 million cars in China over door-handle issue

Xiaomi, a domestic rival to Tesla, is also recalling 400,000 vehicles, as China moves to ban retractable door handles over safety concerns

Tesla has issued the largest-ever product recall in mainland China’s electric vehicle (EV) market, as Elon Musk’s firm pledges to fix a door-handle issue affecting nearly 3 million cars.

The massive recall comes as Chinese regulators move to ban retractable car door handles over safety fears, after a fatal incident last year in which a driver was left trapped inside a burning vehicle as passers-by were unable to open the car doors.

While Tesla is not the only company affected by the move, the US firm has issued the largest recall announced so far.

From September 25, Tesla will add warning labels to its cars’ internal door handles after the vehicles are recalled. The US carmaker will also conduct an over-the-air (OTA) update to its window-control software, which will lower a car’s windows after a collision.

“The door problem has become a big issue since late last year as Chinese regulators and passengers attached greater importance to safety,” said Zhang Wenjie, who runs a car maintenance workshop in Shanghai.

“It is expected by the market that large-scale recalls by Tesla and other domestic carmakers will eventually raise the auto industry’s awareness of product design and quality.”