Mandatory European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval Extended to Trucks, Buses and Trailers.

Mandatory European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA) for M1 category vehicles (i.e. passenger cars) was introduced in the mid 1990's by EC Directive 92/53/EEC. Prior to the introduction of ECWVTA, each European country had their own set of national legal requirements and their own National Type Approval scheme for M1 category vehicles. This meant that passenger car manufacturers had to comply with a different set of requirements and go through a separate National Type Approval process for each European country that they wished to sell their vehicles in, which was a very expensive and time consuming process. ECWVTA introduced a common set of requirements and a common whole vehicle type approval process. Although the ECWVTA requirements were more stringent than many of the national requirements that they superseded, the major advantage of ECWVTA was that passenger car manufacturers could type approve their vehicles once and then sell and register them throughout the European Community.

Vehicles of categories other than M1, such as trucks, buses and trailers, are still subject so separate requirements in each European country and have to comply with a different set of requirements and go through a separate National Type Approval process for each European country. However, work on extending the ECWVTA scheme to non-M1 category vehicles has been underway for the past ten years and finally reached fruition on 9th October 2007 when EC Directive 2007/46/EC was published in the Official Journal.

This new EC Directive repeals and replaces the previous EC Directive on ECWVTA, commonly known as the "Framework Directive", and introduces mandatory ECWVTA for all M, N, and O category vehicles (i.e. trucks, buses and trailers).

The implementation dates for mandatory ECWVTA for non-M1 category vehicles are summarised in Table 1 at the end of this article.

Recognising that ECWVTA may not be economical for small volume manufacturers and specialist vehicle manufacturers, this new Directive permits such vehicles to be type approved via the following alternative type approval routes:

1. European Community Small Series Type Approval (ECSSTA)
   The requirements for ECSSTA are less stringent than for ECWVTA, but an ECSSTA approval is valid throughout the European Community. Currently, this scheme is only available for M1 category vehicles and the maximum number of vehicles that can be registered in the European Community using an ECSSTA approval is limited to 1000 vehicles per year.
   
   
2. National Small Series Type Approval (National SSTA)
   Each country within the European Union is permitted to have its own National SSTA scheme. However, National SSTA approvals are only valid for the country in which they are issued and limits on the maximum number of vehicles which can be registered under such schemes are specified in 2007/46/EC. These limits are summarised in Table 2 at the end of this article.
   
   
3. National Individual Vehicle Type Approval (National IVA)
   Each country within the European Union is permitted to have its own National IVA scheme. However, as the name suggests, IVA applies to individual vehicles, which means that every individual vehicle requiring an IVA approval will have to be presented for physical inspection by the relevant Authorities. Also, IVA approvals are only valid for the country in which they are issued.

Important Note: This article only provides a brief summary of the main points from EC Directive 2007/46/EC. Readers should be aware that the Directive is a 160 page document covering a wide ranging and complicated subject area and that it has implications for every company involved in the automotive industry, whether they are vehicle manufacturers, component manufacturers, vehicle converters or bodybuilders.

TABLE 1

Mandatory ECWVTA Implementation Dates for non-M1 Category Vehicles

Notes

• N1 category vehicles are goods vehicles with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) not exceeding 3500 kg.
• N2 and N3 category vehicles are goods vehicles with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) exceeding 3500 kg.
• M2 and M3 category vehicles are passenger vehicles with more than nine seats.
• The terms "complete vehicle", "incomplete vehicle" and "completed vehicle" refer to whether the vehicle is built in a single stage or in multiple stages.
  • Complete vehicles are vehicles built in a single stage (i.e. where the vehicle is built up to its finished condition by one manufacturer). For example, most passenger cars are manufactured in a single stage.
  • Incomplete vehicles are vehicles which require at least one further stage of build, by a separate manufacturer, to reach their finished condition. For example, a chassis cab truck is an incomplete vehicle.
  • Completed vehicles are incomplete vehicles which have passed through the necessary build stages to reach their finished condition. For example, a chassis cab truck, which has been fitted with a box body by a bodybuilder is a completed vehicle.

TABLE 2

Numerical Limits for National Small Series Type Approval Schemes