<<BACK TO HOME

The European Parliament has passed changes to the whole vehicle type approval process. Small-scale vehicle manufacturers and aftermarket parts firms will be able to receive Europe-wide type approval for their products. OEMs will be able to submit simulations instead of performing physical tests for some parts.

The changes will become law this summer, although the timing of their introduction is then in the hands of member states.
Malcolm Harbour, the MEP responsible for seeing the changes through Parliament, said: “The aim is to reduce the regulatory cost for manufacturers and to ensure that aftermarket equipment does not impair the safety or environmental performance of vehicles.”

The changes will make it easier for small truck and bus manufacturers to sell across Europe, said Harbour. Some vehicle categories, buses and trucks particularly, do not have a single mutually recognised type approval for the whole vehicle in Europe. The complex paperwork necessary to sell in different countries has been prohibitive in the past.

For the big OEMs, the provision to be able to carry out procedures using virtual testing will help. Deciding which tests are OK to simulate comes next. OEMs must prove any virtual tests are sufficiently robust.

“They’ll begin with simple parts; the first is likely to be towing eyes. But in the longer term, when complex simulations are more reliable, crash testing could also be submitted virtually,” said Harbour.

Not all aftermarket parts will require formal type approval. The rules will be confined to performance chips, wheels, tyres, brakes, body parts and roof racks.

“Pedestrian protection means the performance of the bonnet and bumper is critical. There’s no point in introducing requirements for this, if people can fit rigid bumpers,” said Harbour.

There are competition implications here, however. Aftermarket parts compete with manufacturers’ own type parts. OEMs will be obliged to supply technical information to aftermarket producers.

“This will become obligatory in 18 months time,” said Harbour.