Recently, Zhu Xichan, professor at the School of Automotive Engineering at Tongji University and director of the Automotive Safety Technology Research Institute, was interviewed by Pacific Automotive and expressed his views on the hidden door handles commonly used in new energy vehicles. In response to the question "Do hidden door handles make cars more unsafe?" Zhu Xichan said:
The risk of accident rescue caused by the inability to open the car door also existed in the era of mechanical door locks and door handles. After having an electric door lock,Some car companies have automatic locking and automatic unlocking after a collision, but collision unlocking is not standard, and there are still cars from car manufacturers that do not automatically lock.
Nowadays, in some traffic accidents, we sometimes see rescuers unable to open car doors, leading to some vicious accidents, which makes everyone aware of the safety hazards of hidden door handles.From a proportional point of view, it is indeed more difficult or risky than the original mechanical door handle accident rescue.
As for "Why are hidden door handles unsafe and still used in so many cars?" Zhu Xichan explained:
With the intelligent electrification of cars, Tesla is refreshing. Its door handles are flush with the body when retracted. This is the origin of the hidden door handles.
Everyone suddenly noticed that this shape is very strange. At first, they said that the drag coefficient was small, but in fact it was not much smaller. But it is a popular thing, so after Tesla adopted this fully invisible door handle, invisible door handles have almost become a design element of electric cars and smart cars.
When this styling element becomes popular, all car companies actually dare not resist this trend. For example, take high-heeled shoes. When high-heeled shoes become a standard feature in social circles and a language of fashion, no matter how uncomfortable you are and there is a risk of sprained feet, you can't do it without wearing them.
If you want to make a smart electric car, a luxury car, or a high-end car, but you don’t have this styling element, people will say that your car is very old-fashioned, so it gets caught up in the popularity.
