Regulations Spotlight

Following the UK's vote to leave the European Union in 2016 and their subsequent invoking of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union on 29th March 2017, the UK is due to leave the European Union on 29th March 2019. From a type approval perspective, the UK leaving the European Union will have significant implications on the application and acceptability of European Union type approvals issued under any of the following EU Directives and Regulations or their subsidiary EU Directives and Regulations:

• 2007/46/EC covering motor vehicles (passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, vans, trucks, buses and coaches) and their trailers.
• (EU) No. 167/2013 covering agricultural and forestry tractors and trailers.
• (EU) No. 168/2013 covering two or three wheeled vehicles and quadricycles.
• (EU) No. 2016/1628 covering internal combustion engines for non-road mobile machinery.

Once the UK leaves the EU, the UK will not be able to issue EU type approvals and EU Member States will not be obliged to accept any existing EU type approvals issued by the UK Type Approval Authority, the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA). Similarly, the UK will no longer be obliged to accept any EU type approvals issued by the Type Approval Authorities of other EU Member States.

Under the Withdrawal Agreement that has been negotiated between the EU and the UK, there would be a "transition period" after 29th March 2019, during which the existing type approval arrangements would continue to apply as they do today. However, if the Withdrawal Agreement has not been fully ratified by both the UK and the EU by the 29th March 2019, the UK could leave the EU without an agreement in place, the so called "no deal Brexit" scenario, and the restrictions on the validity and acceptability of EU type approvals would commence on that date.

In preparation for a possible "no deal Brexit" scenario, both the EU and UK governments have been working on amendments to their respective type approval requirements to cater for such a scenario. In both cases, the intention of these amendments is to minimise the impact on industry whilst ensuring that the essential legal requirements are respected.

From the EU side, on 10th January 2019, EU Regulation No. 2019/26 was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. This Regulation specifies new provisions that have been put in place for holders of EU type approvals issued by the VCA that wish to sell and register their products in other EU Member States after the UK leaves the EU. The basic provisions specified by this new Regulation can be summarised as follows:

• Manufacturers that currently hold an EU type approval issued by the VCA can apply for a new EU type approval for the same vehicle, system or component from the Type Approval Authority of any other EU Member State.
• The new Type Approval Authority will issue the new EU type approval based on the vehicle, system or component being of an existing type, rather than it being treated as a new type.
• When issuing a new EU type approval, the new Type Approval Authority may accept the test reports used to support the original VCA issued type approval even if the Technical Service that carried out that testing is not a designated Technical Service of the new Type Approval Authority.

From the UK side, on 11th December 2018, the UK Department for Transport issued a draft version of The Road Vehicles and Non-Road Mobile Machinery (Type Approval) (EU Exit) Regulations and, on 21st January 2019, a slightly amended version of this draft was laid in Parliament. This draft Regulation specifies new provisions that have been put in place, including specific provisions for holders of EU type approvals issued by the Type Approval Authorities of other EU Member States that wish to sell and register their products in the UK after the UK leaves the EU. The basic provisions specified by this new Regulation can be summarised as follows:

• EU system and component type approvals issued by the Type Approval Authorities of other EU Member States will continue to be recognised in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.
• Whole vehicle EU type approvals issued by the VCA will continue to be accepted for registration purposes in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.
• Whole vehicle EU type approvals issued by the Type Approval Authorities of other EU Member States will no longer be accepted for registration purposes in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.
• Manufacturers that currently hold an EU whole vehicle type approval issued by the Type Approval Authority of another EU Member State can apply to the VCA for a provisional UK type approval which will allow them to register vehicles in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.
• The requirements for provisional UK type approval will be identical to the current EU type approval requirements. Therefore, the issue of a provisional UK type approval to a vehicle with a valid EU whole vehicle type approval will only be an administrative process.

Please note that this is only a summary of the new type approval provisions being put in place by the EU and the UK. It is recommended that vehicle, system and component manufacturers that will be affected by these new provisions, i.e.:

• Holders of EU type approvals issued by the VCA that wish to sell and register their products in other EU Member States after the UK leaves the EU, and
• Holders of EU type approvals issued by the Type Approval Authorities of other EU Member States that wish to sell and register their products in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

should study these new Regulations in detail and seek guidance from the relevant Type Approval Authorities as required.