China Just Banned Steering Yokes, But Not For The Reason You Think

I have used a production steering yoke on a normal passenger car exactly one time in my life. It was a few years back, when I was working for Road & Track, and we held our first-ever EV Performance Car of the Year test. Among the contenders was none other than the Tesla Model S Plaid.

This was back when the Plaid was still pretty new, and before any of us even got behind the wheel, many of my colleagues had strong opinions on it. I like to reserve any judgment until I actually drive cars, and I’m glad I did for this one, because it surprised me in a couple of ways.

For one, the Model S Plaid wasn’t a total mess on the road, as many suggested it might be. It handled fairly well, actually, and it was explosively quick out of corners (obviously). Had it not had a steering yoke, I think I would’ve actually defended it in that comparison test.

Alas, I absolutely hated that yoke. It ruined the entire driving experience, not only because it looked ridiculous, but also because it was clumsy to use, whether you were driving normally or maneuvering through tight parking lots. Interestingly, neither of these reasons is why China is banning steering yokes from new cars starting next year.

The Shape Simply Isn’t Safe Enough, Says MIIT

According to Chinese-language publication Autohome, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published a draft outlining “Regulations for Preventing Injuries to Drivers from Automobile Steering Mechanisms,” which will go into law on January 1, 2027.

The new regulations outline stricter rules for testing and just how much the steering column can be displaced in a collision, but curiously, all of the provisions regarding steering yokes or “half-spoke” steering wheels have been removed, according to Autohome.

After experiencing the yoke first-hand, I first assumed the wheel style was being banned because it might be deemed too unsafe to handle in an emergency situation. But really, MIIT is banning the design for three other reasons. The first is that there simply aren’t enough points on a yoke-shaped wheel to evaluate it properly using the new testing procedures. From Autohome:

The new regulations require that in the head impact test, a total of 10 test points must be tested, including the “midpoint of the weakest area” and the “midpoint of the shortest unsupported area” on the wheel rim.

For the missing upper half of the steering wheel, these key test points simply do not exist physically, leading to a logical dead end under the existing evaluation system where “failure to test equals failure.”

Regulators also aren’t fans of how the lack of an upper portion of the wheel can make it easier for parts of the driver’s body to more easily strike hard points of the vehicle’s interior, like the dashboard and steering column:

Traffic accident statistics show that 46% of driver injuries originate from the steering mechanism. 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.

The last piece of reasoning centers on the airbag deployment:

The new regulations specifically require that no hard debris (such as metal or plastic parts) should be directed towards the occupant during airbag deployment. The irregular cover of the half-spoke steering wheel has an extremely unstable fragmentation path and support structure when the airbag deploys instantly, making it difficult to pass the rigorous testing verified by high-speed camera capture.

While the first and third reasons are mostly down to testing incompatibilities, the second reason does make a lot of sense. In the event of a crash, the rim of a steering wheel, combined with the air bag, can act as a sort of blocker for flailing limbs. Eliminating half of the wheel can only hurt that benefit. And safety at the cost of aesthetics is not usually worth compromising on.

This Isn’t Just A Tesla Thing

Tesla was the first manufacturer to popularize the steering yoke in production cars, so it’s easy to assume they’re being targeted here. But since the yoke’s appearance on the Model S, several manufacturers have begun to adopt similar yoke designs for their cars.

In addition to the Model S and Model X, you can get a steering yoke on cars like the Lexus RZ, the company’s electric crossover. In China, steering yokes can also be found on the Jiyue 07 sedan, built in a collaboration between Baidu and Geely, as well as the IM Motors LS6 and LS7 crossovers, which were designed by a joint venture formed by SAIC, Alibaba, and Zhangjiang Hi-Tec.

Mercedes promised last year plans to add a yoke to complement its upcoming steer-by-wire system, though there’s no word if that’s still the plan.

Either way, there are a handful of manufacturers that have some rejiggering to do. Brand-new cars will have to comply with the new regulations from day one, but vehicles currently in production will, according to Autohome, have roughly 13 months to adjust their designs to comply. While yokes sure look cool, I think it’s for the better.

Top graphic image: Tesla