China is preparing tougher EV safety rules that could affect two fast-growing areas of the market: lounge-style “zero-gravity” seats and end-of-life battery processing.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) was listed as the organising department for two mandatory national standard drafts now open for comment.
One covers strength requirements and test methods for car seats, seat anchorages and head restraints. The other covers safety requirements for dismantling and crushing traction batteries used in electric vehicles.
Both draft rules are still open for public comment until July 25. One deals with how car seats and head restraints should protect people in a crash, while the other deals with safer handling of used EV batteries when they are taken apart or crushed. If approved, both sets of rules are expected to take effect on Jan 1, 2028.
Premium Chinese EV cabins now look less like traditional car interiors and more like business-class lounges, with deep-reclining seats, leg rests and oversized screens doing much of the selling. That raises a simple crash-safety question: how well do the restraints work when a passenger is sitting far back instead of upright?
The latest drafts also followed an earlier MIIT move on another fashionable EV feature. From 2027, China would require new models to use door-handle designs with a mechanical release function, curbing hidden or electronic-only handles that rely on a key fob, mobile phone or press-to-open action.
The safety concern is simple: rescuers and occupants still need a way in or out after a crash, fire or power failure.
The battery rules point to another pressure point. As China’s EV fleet ages, more batteries would enter the recycling chain. Dismantling and crushing packs bring risks from residual charge, short circuits, fire, explosion and chemical exposure if handling standards are weak.
Carmakers can keep chasing softer cabins and cleaner battery disposal. China is now telling them not to let the safety work trail behind.
