Yoke-style steering wheels will effectively be banned in China from 2027 as a part of safety push from the country’s regulators.
Although yoke-style wheels have garnered plenty of attention over the past few years, their availability is limited to cars like the Lexus RZ, Tesla Model S, some IM models in China, and the upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQS facelift.
Autohome has discovered a draft by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) updating the country’s steering wheel regulations.
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The proposed regulation is in “draft for approval” stage, meaning it is one step away from coming into effect at the beginning of 2027.
It removes technical content regarding yoke-style steering wheels, and makes human impact testing mandatory for all steering wheel types. Earlier drafts included elements referring to yoke-style wheels, but the committee removed them from the final draft.
The new standard requires head impact testing at ten specific points on the rim, including the “mid-point of the weakest area” and the “mid-point of the shortest unsupported area”, neither which exist in a yoke-style wheel.
Autohome goes on to cite a study, presumably used in the draft regulation to justify the changes, stating “traditional circular steering wheels provide a large area of cushioning when the driver leans forward, while the open structure of a half-spoke steering wheel makes it very easy for a person to bypass the steering wheel and directly impact the steering column or dashboard in a secondary collision, drastically increasing the risk [of injury]”.
There’s also a new rule prohibiting hard projectiles, like metal or plastic components, from facing an occupant during airbag deployment. This, the Chinese website states, is a hard standard for yoke-style wheels to meet as they have irregular supporting structures and unpredictable fracture patterns.
Elsewhere the updated regulation brings China into line with international standards, including stricter thresholds on upward and rearward displacement of the steering column during an accident, and revised testing methodology.
Once approved, the new steering wheel regulations will come into force from January 1, 2027 for new models. Vehicles currently on sale are usually given a grace period, typically up to 13 months, to get up to standard.
MORE: Reinventing the wheel? Steer-by-wire and yokes explained