Home Page > Vehicle Type Approval > Type Approval for Cars
Type Approval for Cars
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 document.
The Value of working with VCA
Other specific links:
- Information on the revised ECWVTA Framework Directive
- Click here for the latest ECWVTA brochure
- Image of a car showing applicable standards
- About Conformity of Production
- Visual overview of the Type Approval process
For Low Volume Customers
- General Guide to the low Volume Approval Scheme
- Detailed outline of the UK Low Volume - Small Series Scheme
Related Information |
