Yoke steering wheels are getting banned in China from 2027
Published on Feb 17, 2026 at 3:23 AM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on Feb 16, 2026 at 8:24 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
From next year onwards, Yoke steering wheels are going to be banned in China.
You may have noticed that these steering wheels have been popular in recent years, particularly in Tesla vehicles.
This prompted other manufacturers to follow suit and install their own – in the US and China alike.
But now the Chinese government is cracking down on the feature, and the reason behind this decision might shock you.
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Why is China banning Yoke steering wheels?
Cast your minds back to 2021, and you’ll recall this was when Tesla brought Yoke steering wheels into the world.
What exactly was different about this design? Well, it was essentially half of a steering wheel – the bottom half, to be precise.
Even though it was an unusual design, it really caught on with customers.
However, trouble was soon brewing as Tesla admitted it was hard to make sharp turns with, and it was also hard to hold onto.
It didn’t help that the steering wheel trim started falling off after about 4,000 miles.
When a full steering wheel was brought out as a replacement, it was sold out within a week.
Alas, the Yoke steering wheel seemed to have had its day, with it being reduced to a Model S Plaid-only option.
If you wanted a Yoke steering wheel for another Tesla vehicle, you’d be paying extra.
And the Yoke’s run of bad luck hasn’t improved since.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is planning to ban it, beginning on January 1, 2027.
Under the new guidelines, impact testing will be required on ten points of the steering wheel rim.
And giving that a Yoke steering wheel is only half a wheel, this presents an obvious problem – these points that need to be impact tested don’t exist on a Yoke.
According to data from Chinese officials, 46 percent of driver injuries come from the steering mechanism.
With a Yoke wheel having less of a buffer zone, the likelihood of injury increases.
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There’s a lot of change with cars in China recently
This story may be ringing a bell for you, if you recall that China is also banning hidden car door handles. And that’s also down to safety issues.
Part of the reason why these news stories make such waves is because of how much China influences the global car market.
Lest we forget, China is a massive car market, and it’s something the country’s government has a keen interest in – as documents from within the government make clear.
If manufacturers want their cars to be available to half a billion drivers, then they’ll play ball with the regulations of the Chinese government.
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Following stints at LadBible, The Sun, The New York Post, and the Daily Mail, Ben joined the team full-time in February 2025. In his role as Senior Content Writer, his sparkling copy, the ability to sniff out a good story at 100 paces, and a GSOH quickly led to him becoming an integral and invaluable member of the writing staff.
