Chinese automakers are facing a major regulatory change that will take effect in 2027. Strict state requirements are set to bring an end to the era of extravagant designs and technological complications in the cabin. The decision to ban retractable door handles, steering wheels in place of conventional ones, and an excessive abundance of touchscreens has already sparked discussions among consumers, but the reaction among professional designers is entirely different.
Initial concerns that the new standards would make Chinese cars boring and indistinguishable are being disproved by leading figures in the industry. Nikita Medelets, a lead designer at Deepal, describes the upcoming changes as a necessary step toward rationalization. According to him, exterior interactive light panels, control joysticks, and seats with a “zero-gravity” function do not add any real value, but merely complicate production and operation. The main goal of the new regulatory framework is to directly improve safety, as a number of marketing-driven solutions have so far shown serious flaws in critical situations – from electronic handles becoming jammed during fires to the lack of an analogue alternative in the event of an autopilot failure.
Economic pressure and the crisis in the global market are also forcing companies to optimize their costs. The drive to incorporate every possible innovation into a single model is proving financially unviable and practically ill-considered. Automakers in the Asian country are beginning to abandon expensive and unprofitable extras in favor of more durable and proven engineering solutions.
The interiors of future cars will undergo the most significant transformation
Roman Mubarakshin, a senior interior designer at Lynk & Co, points out that the return of physical buttons will improve ergonomics and ergonomic behavior while driving. The removal of fully touch-based interfaces, which require drivers to constantly divert their attention from the road, is an issue affecting not only Chinese cars but also many European models such as the Volvo EX30. The return to classic control elements is not seen as a step backward, but as an opportunity to create new, more practical solutions, similar to the conceptual buttons in Hyundai’s prototypes.
Chery has also expressed support for the new policy, emphasizing that safety and convenience must take absolute priority over exterior aesthetics. The new regulations draw a clear line between useful innovation and marketing excess, returning the industry to a reasonable balance between style, functionality, and security.