China Is The First Country To Ban Tesla-style Door Handles Over Safety

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Happy Monday! It's February 2, 2026, and this is The Morning Shift — your regular roundup of nan apical automotive headlines from astir nan world, successful 1 place. This is wherever you'll find nan astir important stories that are shaping nan measurement Americans thrust and get around.

In this morning's edition, we're looking astatine China's prohibition connected pop-out doorway handles, Tesla's continued European collapse, arsenic good arsenic an NHTSA investigation into F-150 transmission issues. We'll besides look astatine Hyundai ditching its erstwhile Russian works for good.

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Automakers person been large fans of flush-mounted doorway handles recently, overmuch to nan ire of rideshare riders nan world over. Now, 1 state is pushing back: China, which conscionable banned electronically-actuated handles connected EVs. From Bloomberg: 

China banned concealed doorway handles connected electrical vehicles, nan first state successful nan world to outlaw a creation popularized by Tesla Inc. that is now facing world regulatory scrutiny owed to a spate of deadly incidents.

Cars sold successful China will beryllium required to person mechanical merchandise some connected nan wrong and outside, according to caller information rules issued by nan Ministry of Industry and Information Technology connected Monday.

The ruling will return effect connected Jan. 1, 2027, nan ministry said. Models that person already been approved by nan regulator and are successful nan last stages of launching successful China person until January 2029 to alteration their designs.

Given that Tesla's electrically actuated handles have reportedly caused astatine slightest 15 deaths, it's smart for China to prohibition them. It is still imaginable for manufacturers to merchandise flush-mounted handles that person a mechanical linkage, but hopefully they won't. Were regular handles truthful bad? 

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Tesla's income person been cratering ever since CEO Elon Musk decided to openly clasp far-right policies and politicians worldwide, but nan institution has ever had 1 holdout marketplace successful Europe: Norway. Now, pinch January's numbers, it seems moreover nan Norwegians are besides abandoning Tesla. From Reuters:

Registrations of caller Tesla (TSLA.O), opens caller tab cars successful immoderate of its largest European markets showed small signs of betterment successful January, 1 of nan lowest-volume months, rising successful Sweden and Denmark but falling successful France and Norway.

Elon Musk's full-electric brand, whose marketplace successful nan continent shrank 27% past year, registered 26% much cars successful Sweden and 3% much successful Denmark successful January than successful nan aforesaid period of 2025, pinch 512 and 458 cars sold respectively, charismatic information showed connected Monday.

Its registrations, a proxy for sales, fell 88% to 83 vehicles successful Norway, 1 of nan astir brand-loyal countries successful Europe which has been astatine nan forefront of EV adoption, and by 42% to 661 successful France.

Of course, January is only 1 month, and a period wherever Norway is mostly excessively acold for folks to spell wandering astir car trader lots. Still, 88% is simply a genuinely monolithic driblet for income — moreover if it does look to beryllium one of Musk's favourite numbers, it's not a awesome motion for nan company's longevity. 

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F-150 owners person been dealing pinch an unnerving problem recently: Their trucks will downshift astatine speed, locking up nan rear extremity and sending nan conveyance skidding retired of control. This is what we successful nan business telephone "bad." Time for another Ford recall, it sounds. From Reuters: 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said connected Monday it had expanded a safety-related investigation into 1.27 cardinal Ford (F.N), opens caller tab F-150 pickup trucks pursuing reports of unexpected downshifts pinch rear-wheel lockup.

The investigation covers vehicles from nan 2015–2017 exemplary years, NHTSA said.

The probe follows a preliminary information nan agency opened connected March 21 past year, aft receiving complaints related to 2015–2017 Ford F-150 pickups equipped pinch nan '6R80' transmission.

The U.S. car information regulator said owners had reported that nan trucks would abruptly downshift without informing aliases driver input, causing abrupt deceleration and, successful immoderate cases, little rear-wheel lockup aliases skidding, raising nan consequence of a crash.

In its consequence to NHTSA's accusation request, Ford said nan alleged defect successful nan 2015–2017 F-150s differs from nan rumor that prompted 4 information recalls covering 2011–2014 models.

Ford added nan earlier recalls were caused by manufacturing problems pinch a portion supplied by an extracurricular vendor, which led to nonaccomplishment of signals from a velocity sensor.

This benignant of downshift-based rear-wheel skid mightiness really beryllium nosy if it were planned, but you don't usually get NHTSA investigations into planned maneuvers. Maybe Ford tin adhd a toggle for Drift Mode successful nan F-150. 

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When Russia invaded Ukraine, astir multinational corporations ducked retired of nan state to prevention look — even Ural sewage retired of dodge. Hyundai near its Russian works successful 2024, but it near an opening to bargain its measurement backmost into nan state if things settled down. They haven't, truthful Hyundai allowed nan buyback action connected nan Russian works to expire past month. From Reuters:

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor did not workout a buyback action for its erstwhile manufacturing works successful Russia, nan institution said connected Monday, amid nan continuing warfare successful Ukraine.

...

In 2024, Hyundai sold its works to Russia's AGR Automotive Group for a nominal 140,000 won ($97) and agreed to an action to repurchase it wrong a fixed timeframe. The buyback action expired successful January.

I could decidedly find $97 worthy of usage for a defunct car plant. If anyone has 1 of those successful Brooklyn they want to get free of, fto maine know. My dream flat is immoderate converted agency abstraction supra a warehouse, and I think I could make a car mill work. 

I don't ever emotion passing done Grand Central, owed to nan visitors who look contented to amble done and gawk astatine each imaginable show while blocking nan measurement for those of america who really request to get places, but it judge is simply a beautiful building.