Hong Kong is set to ban electric vehicles equipped solely with electronic door handles, as authorities seek to align with mainland China’s decision to mandate physical manual releases on all new cars from 2027 to mitigate safety hazards.

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said on Wednesday the government was closely monitoring the latest technical breakthroughs and regulatory shifts on the mainland and abroad to ensure the city’s road users were protected by the most up-to-date safeguards.

Responding to an inquiry from Ben Chan Hang-pan, chairman of the Legislative Council’s transport panel, the transport chief highlighted a new mandatory national standard published by the mainland that the city was considering adopting.

She was referring to the GB 48001-2026 standard titled, “Safety technical requirements for automotive door handle”.

“[The standard] requires that mechanical door handles be installed on both the interior and exterior of doors for vehicles sold from 2027 onwards, focusing on addressing issues such as failure in operating door handles after accidents,” she said.

“The Transport Department has consulted the trade on the relevant requirements, with a view to updating related local vehicle safety standards in a timely manner and ensuring that the vehicle standards in Hong Kong remain current.”