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Type Approval for Cars
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Image courtesy of Toyota |
Many industrial sectors are subject to some form of approval or certification system but road vehicles are a special case, because of their importance to and impact upon society, and have been subject to specific technical standards almost from their first invention.
Within Europe, two systems of type approval have been in existence for over 20 years. One is based around EC Directives and provides for the approval of whole vehicles, vehicle systems, and separate components. The other is based around ECE (United Nations) Regulations and provides for approval of vehicle systems and separate components, but not whole vehicles.
Type approval is the confirmation that production samples of a design will meet specified performance standards. The specification of the product is recorded and only that specification is approved.
Automotive EC Directives and ECE Regulations require third party approval - testing, certification and production conformity assessment by an independent body. Each Member State is required to appoint an Approval Authority to issue the approvals and a Technical Service to carry out the testing to the Directives and Regulations. An approval issued by one Authority will be accepted in all the Member States.
VCA is the designated UK Approval Authority and Technical Service for all type approvals to automotive EC Directives and ECE Regulations. The following linked PDF file explains this in more detail:
Open
European Type Approval for Automotive Systems and Components (PDF 76.1KB)document.
The value of working with VCA
Other specific links:
- Image of a car showing applicable standards
- About Conformity of Production
- Visual Overview of the Type Approval Process (PDF 68KB)
- Make an application for Type Approval (PDF 163.3KB)
For Low Volume / Small Series Customers:
The processes and requirements for Low Volume / Small series has recently changed. Please use the email link below if you'd like further information on this subject.
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