As the global electric vehicle market grapples with mounting concerns over collapsing resale values, China—the world’s largest and most experimentally regulated EV market—is moving decisively with a sweeping policy overhaul.

A single regulatory notice issued recently by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has made the country the first in the world to formally declare the end of what might be called the automotive industry’s “era of invisibility.” Under the new rules, beginning Jan. 1, 2027, all new vehicles sold in China will be prohibited from using fully electric hidden door handles. The regulation effectively applies the brakes to an industry-wide push toward ever more electronic, futuristic design, forcing automakers to return to a basic principle of physical safety.