China’s Largest Car Recall: 4.3 Million Vehicles Affected, Including Tesla, Xiaomi, and XPeng

China's market regulator has ordered the recall of roughly 4.28 million vehicles over emergency door releases that are too hard to find in a crash, the largest single-issue recall in the country's history. Three of the automakers involved trade directly on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and a fourth is exposed through its parent company.

The State Administration for Market Regulation said the mechanical lever used to open a door from inside is finished in a color close to the interior trim across nine automakers' models, making it difficult to locate if a crash knocks out the low-voltage system that powers electronic handles.

Tesla carries the largest share, about 2.98 million China-made and imported Model 3, Y, S and X cars. Tesla is not Hong Kong-listed — it trades only on Nasdaq. The recall starts September 25, with warning labels and a software update that automatically lowers windows after a collision.

Xiaomi (1810.HK) is recalling about 390,000 SU7 sedans. XPeng (9868.HK) is recalling roughly 265,000 vehicles across the G6, P7+ and X9. Leapmotor (9863.HK) is recalling more than 370,000 C01 and C11 cars. Fixes for all three range from warning labels to over-the-air updates.

Zeekr is also on the list, with about 92,000 units of its 007 and X models. But Zeekr delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in December, when Geely absorbed it as a wholly owned subsidiary — so that exposure now sits with Geely Automobile (0175.HK), not with Zeekr as a separate stock.

The action lands ahead of a national standard, mandatory from January 2027, that will require every new car sold in China to carry a visible mechanical door release — a direct move against the flush, minimalist handles automakers adopted for looks and aerodynamics.