EU approval and market surveillance measures for motor vehicles and their trailers

KEY POINTS

Scope

The regulation applies to:

• motor vehicles with at least 4 wheels used for the carriage of passengers (category M);
• motor vehicles with at least 4 wheels intended for the transportation of goods (category N);
• trailers (category O).

Type approval and testing before a car is placed on the market

• Technical services will be regularly and independently audited on the basis of strict performance criteria to obtain and maintain the authority given by EU Member States to test and inspect new vehicle models. The European Commission and other Member States will be able to challenge this authorisation when something is wrong.
• National type-approval authorities will be subject to Commission audits to ensure that the relevant rules are implemented and rigorously enforced across the EU.
• The Commission’s proposal to modify the remuneration system to avoid technical services being paid directly by the manufacturer was not maintained.

Checks of cars on the market

• Pre-existing type-approval rules deal mainly with checks on prototypes taken from the production line; this regulation introduces market surveillance and additionally requires Member States to carry out regular spot-checks on vehicles already on their market and make such results publicly available.
• All Member States can now take immediate safeguard measures against non-compliant vehicles on their territory without having to wait for the type approval authority to act.

Oversight

• The Commission can carry out market checks independently of Member States and may initiate EU-wide recalls.
• It can challenge the designation of technical services and impose administrative penalties on manufacturers or technical services of up to €30,000 per non-compliant vehicle.
• The Commission will chair a new enforcement forum to ensure a more uniform interpretation of relevant EU legislation, complete transparency on cases of non-compliance, and better and more coordinated market surveillance activities by Member States.

Manufacturers

• In addition to the existing ban on defeat devices which alter performance during testing, manufacturers must provide access to the car’s software protocols to allow for external checks.

Safety requirements and protection of vulnerable road users

• Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 amends Regulation (EU) 2018/858 and updates EU type-approval requirements to ensure the general safety of vehicles and the protection of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists (see summary). It amends Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2018/858 which contains the requirements for the purpose of EU type approval of vehicles, systems, components or separate technical units.

Online data exchange and notification of EU type approvals

• The Commission has adopted an implementing act, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1812 which lays down rules on the online data exchange and the notification of EU type approvals under Regulation (EU) 2018/858.

Exchange of the data of the certificate of conformity in electronic format

• Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/133 sets out the specifications for the basic format, structure and the means of exchange of the data of the certificate of conformity in electronic format. This is to ensure that certificates of conformity are exchanged between manufacturers and approval authorities in a uniform manner and that the data elements and messages they contain are harmonised.