Frustrating car features banned by China being 'monitored' in Oz: Here’s what ANCAP says about the latest new car safety developments surrounding touchscreens, steering wheels and doorhandles overseas

Regulators have laid down the gauntlet on a range of potentially frustrating but trendy new features on cars sold in China, in an act which could have wide-ranging implications for cars from multiple automakers sold in Australia. 

Here’s what Australia's crash test and safety authority, ANCAP, has to say from a local perspective.

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Cars being sold in China which were previously approved with such features have up to 13 months to comply with the regulations.

Not only will this new set of rules inevitably impact cars from Chinese brands, but they may also impact vehicles which are built in China from Korean, Japanese, and European automakers, and could have wider-ranging impacts on cars built globally for Australia.

When asked about these developments, Australia’s local safety body, ANCAP, told CarsGuide it was keeping an eye on the rapid regulatory changes taking place in China.

"ANCAP monitors regulatory and design developments across all major markets, including China. 

While changes there may influence vehicles supplied to Australia, our program remains independent and evidence based,” ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg said.

Ms Hoorweg added the body would be sticking to its current review cycle, despite some of the changes which take place in China’s regulatory environment as it struggles to keep up with its also ultra-rapid car industry.

"ANCAP’s protocols for testing and assessment are broadly harmonised with those of Euro NCAP, with some minor changes to account for regulatory differences in Australia and New Zealand.

"The protocols are updated on a three-year cycle, and updates are designed to consider trends in vehicle design (for example accessibility of vehicle controls) and to tackle the key crash types," Hoorweg said.

Nevertheless, touchscreen safety and the inclusion of key physical controls are on the safety body’s radar, even if it won’t move to suddenly ban some new functions. ANCAP’s new safety regulations being introduced from this year include “elements” of a focus on they types of controls being altered by Chinese regulators. 

Going forward, these will form part of the brand’s new ‘Safe Driving’ pillar which was part of a major shake-up of ANCAP’s rules.

Hoorweg told CarsGuide in 2025 that “Driver distraction is a big focus, You’ve seen some of the commentary on buttons versus touchscreens, whether we get that specific in the 2026 protocol it’s a bit early to say, but that area as a focus area of the protocols is very live and there’s a lot of work going on around human machine interface and driver distraction.”

As for other dramatically altered controls which we haven’t yet seen arrive in Australia, like the so-called ‘yoke’ steering wheels seen on US-market Teslas, some Lexus models, and on multiple new or upcoming Chinese cars, Hoorweg said ANCAP would assess the steering wheels on a case-by-case basis if they were to land on Australian-delivered cars.

"Yoke steering wheels have come in and out of fashion since the 1960s but we have not seen these enter the local market in meaningful numbers and do not expect widespread uptake. At this point we are not aware of any additional risk from this design, and any steering wheel design must support effective airbag deployment and occupant protection. If a non-conventional design negatively affected injury outcomes this would be reflected in ANCAP crash test results and subsequent scoring," she said.

These types of steering wheels have been made popular seemingly by design trends in China, but have also been enabled by the more widespread use of steer-by-wire technology.

Yet despite the potentially dangerous trend-based features appearing on Chinese vehicles, most new models coming out of the country achieve high safety ratings. ANCAP told CarsGuide in 2025 that 86 per cent of Chinese cars assessed had achieved a maximum safety rating since 2023.

This puts China ahead of Japan when it comes to safety records over the same period, with only 82 per cent of Japanese vehicles scoring a maximum five-star rating. Germany, however, still leads the pack, with a 94 per cent of new vehicles passing the five-star standard with flying colours.

Responding to increasing criticism of ANCAP at the time, Hoorweg said, “It’s disappointing because we know those brands can deliver five star products, so we hope they’re trying to bring those vehicles in. It is a competitive market though, so obviously they’re going to try to change the playing field. [Criticism] is one way they try to do that."

However, she also said that with context, manufacturers have generally done a great job of increasing safety technology while keeping prices low for consumers, despite ANCAP consistently ratcheting up its standards every three years.

“We’ve seen the real cost of a vehicle which factors in what you’re actually getting. The cost has stuck around $25,000 for a very long time, but what you’re actually getting is a lot more, so the real cost to the consumer has actually decreased.

"Manufacturers have actually done a great job of keeping those prices that low for a very long time, but we don’t want to see safety be the element that gets blamed for that [increasing],” Hoorweg said at the time.