Safe motor vehicles and trailers

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EC) No 661/2009 — type-approval for motor vehicles and trailers

SUMMARY

New motor vehicles must meet the same technical requirements throughout the European Union. This helps ensure a high level of road safety and environmental protection, and makes the EU’s automotive industry more competitive.

WHAT DOES THE REGULATION DO?

It sets out the technical requirements and the procedures to ensure that new motor vehicles meet EU safety and energy efficiency standards.

KEY POINTS

This regulation establishes requirements for the type-approval of:

• the safety of motor vehicles and their trailers;
• the energy efficiency of motor vehicles (by making it mandatory to install tyre pressure monitoring systems and gear shift indicators);
• the safety and energy efficiency of tyres and their levels of noise emissions.

It applies to:

• motor vehicles with at least 4 wheels, used to transport passengers (category M)
• motor vehicles with at least 4 wheels, intended for goods transport (category N)
• trailers (category O).

Type-approval*

Through the Regulation, the EU conforms to a number of United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) regulations on technical specifications for motor vehicles. A vehicle type-approved under these UNECE regulations is considered to meet the Commission’s type-approval standards.

Regulation 2015/166, which supplemented and amended the original regulation, sets out detailed rules on the specific procedures, technical requirements and tests for type-approval. It also covers components and separate technical units for motor vehicles.

Manufacturers’obligations

Manufacturers must guarantee that new vehicles sold, registered or put into service in the EU are type-approved in accordance with this regulation.

To improve road safety, all vehicles must be equipped with an electronic stability control system. Vehicles in categories M2, M3, N2 and N3 must be equipped with an advanced emergency braking system and a lane departure warning system. This will apply to all new lorries and buses from 1 November 2015.

Tyres must satisfy requirements relating to:

• wet grip
• rolling resistance
• rolling noise.

In addition, vehicles in category M1 must be equipped with a tyre pressure monitoring system, seat belt reminder and gear shift indicators, among many other more detailed specifications for all vehicle categories.

Obligations for EU countries

Commission type-approval or national type-approval is granted only to vehicles meeting the requirements laid down in this regulation.

BACKGROUND

Safety in the automotive sector.

KEYWORDS

* Type-approval: shows a vehicle type has been tested to make sure it meets the relevant regulatory, technical and safety requirements.

ACT

Regulation (EC) No 661/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning type-approval requirements for the general safety of motor vehicles, their trailers and systems, components and separate technical units intended therefor

RELATED ACTS

Commission Regulation (EU) No 19/2011 of 11 January 2011 concerning type-approval requirements for the manufacturer’s statutory plate and for the vehicle identification number of motor vehicles and their trailers and implementing Regulation (EC) No 661/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning type-approval requirements for the general safety of motor vehicles, their trailers and systems, components and separate technical units intended therefor (OJ L 8, 12.1.2011, pp. 1–13)

last update 24.09.2015