VEHICLE CERTIFICATION FROM
AUTOMOTIVE SPECIALISTS
VCA - Delivering a Safer Environment
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Rev 1.0
Contents
Pg
2 Introduction
3 Why VCA?
4 What is Type Approval?
5 Vehicle categories explained
6 Vehicle Certification - your options
7 EC Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA)
8 EC Small Series Type Approval (ECSSTA)
9 National Small Series Type Approval (NSSTA)
10 Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA)
11 Advice for multi-stage builders
12 Type Approval – the process
13 Conformity of Production (CoP)
14 Online tools to support you through the process
15 VCA VISTA & LegStat
16 Glossary of frequently used terms
2 | Vehicle Certification From Automotive Specialists
VCA is the designated UK
Approval Authority and a
Technical Service for all type
approvals to automotive EC
Directives and EC or UN
Regulations.
INTRODUCTION
Almost since their invention, vehicles have been subject to some
sort of safety and environmental certification. Over time, the
level and complexity of certification has increased and now the
vast majority of countries mandate a set of legal requirements
to control the safety, security and environmental impact of
vehicles, their systems and components.
Understanding the legislation in your chosen market is critical as
failure to obtain the correct certification may prevent vehicles
from being registered.
Within Europe, two systems of type approval have been in
existence for over 20 years. One is based around EC Directives
and EC Regulations and provides for the approval of whole
vehicles, vehicle systems, and separate components. The other
is based around United Nations Regulations and provides for
approval of vehicle systems and separate components, but not
whole vehicles. However, this system already complements the
European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA)
system and figures increasingly as time goes on.
Type approval is the confirmation that production samples of a
design have met specified performance standards and that series
production will continue in compliance. The specification of the
product is recorded and only that specification is approved.
Both the European and United Nations type approval systems
require third party approval - testing, certification and
production conformity assessment by an independent body.
Each Member State (or Contracting Party in the case of UN
Regulations) may appoint an Approval Authority to issue the
approvals and a Technical Service to carry out the testing to
the Directives and Regulations. In the EC an approval issued
by one Authority will be accepted in all the Member States.
VCA is the designated UK Approval Authority and a Technical
Service for all type approvals to automotive EC Directives and
EC or UN Regulations.
The purpose of this publication is to explain the vehicle type
approval process, outlining the various routes to certification
for cars, vans, trucks, coaches, buses, trailers and some other
special purpose vehicles. It also explains how VCA can
support you through the process, what sets us apart from
other certification bodies and what tools we have developed
to help you get your products to market as quickly and
efficiently as possible. Information on the certification of
motorcycles and agricultural tractors is available separately or
on the VCA website.
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“
With approaching 40 years
experience, VCA supports
the automotive industry
globally...
WHY VCA?
Choosing the right certification partner is one of the most
important elements of the approval process.
VCA is an executive agency of the UK Department for
Transport and is the UK vehicle type approval authority for new
road vehicles, agricultural tractors and off-road vehicles. With
approaching 40 years experience,VCA supports the automotive
industry globally from a number of strategic locations including
North America, Japan, China, India, Malaysia, Italy, Korea and
Australia. This means that VCA has the ability to quickly
respond to your needs wherever you are.
Our service is based on the cornerstones of integrity,
professionalism, quality and the very best customer service.
VCA:
•Is a combined Approval Authority and Technical Service,
which will help you to get your products to market quickly
•Has developed a range of online tools to help you through
the approval process and to maintain ongoing compliance
•Promotes stable relationships with customers; you won’t see
a different person every time
•Scored 95% on a recent independent customer satisfaction
survey
VCA is also a management system certification body, accredited
by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) against
ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and Acorn. In addition to
this,VCA is recognised by the International Automotive Task
Force (IATF) for ISO/TS 16949. VCA can also issue certification
to the energy management standard, ISO 50001.
Our aim is to help you to succeed!
Next Steps:
To find out more contact one of the team or complete the
online application form at: www.dft.gov.uk/vca
www.dft.gov.uk/vca
4 | Vehicle Certification From Automotive Specialists
WHAT IS TYPE APPROVAL?
Put simply, type approval is the process of ensuring that
production new on and off-road vehicles, their systems
and components, have been designed and constructed to
meet internationally agreed standards of safety, security
and environmental protection. Whole Vehicle Type Approval
authorises a manufacturer to:
•Produce vehicles to a proven specification and,
•Self-certify these as compliant with relevant legislation
Two fundamental requirements are:
•Meeting the technical and administrative requirements and
capturing the design
•Ensuring that subsequent production vehicles are
manufactured in conformance with the approved design
Updated Framework Directive:
During 2007, the framework Directive covering European Type
Approval for cars was extended to cover buses, coaches, vans,
trucks, trailers and some other special purpose vehicles. These
changes were phased in from April 2009 by vehicle category
and were fully in place by 2014. If you are involved in the
manufacture, conversion, import/export, sale or purchase of
such vehicles you will have been affected to a greater or lesser
extent.
The following chart illustrates how the various vehicle
categories are described in type approval legislation so you can
see which applies to you. If you are uncertain of the relevant
type approval application date for your vehicle category you can
find this out in Annex XIX to the framework Directive 2007/46/
EC, as amended or on the relevant page of the VCA website.
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VCA Customer
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VEHICLE CATEGORIES EXPLAINED
www.dft.gov.uk/vca
6 | Vehicle Certification From Automotive Specialists
VEHICLE CERTIFICATION - YOUR OPTIONS
There are a number of potential routes to
the certification you require and the best
option for you will depend on your particular
circumstances. There are four potential routes
to approval, which are:
•European Community Whole Vehicle Type
Approval (ECWVTA)
•European Small Series Type Approval for
cars (ECSSTA)
•National Small Series Type Approval
(NSSTA)
•Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA)
Each of the above will have their own
merits and you may choose to use one or a
VCA
Customerin
combination. Each of the options
is outlined
the following:
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EUROPEAN COMMUNITY WHOLE VEHICLE TYPE
APPROVAL (ECWVTA)
If you make large numbers of vehicles each year and/or you plan
to sell across Europe, ECWVTA is the best approval option.
The European approval scheme is based on the concept of “type
approval” and put simply; this process provides a mechanism
for ensuring that vehicles meet relevant environmental, safety
and security standards. Because it is not practical to test every
single vehicle made, samples representative of a production
vehicle are tested as being representative of the ‘type’. A
number of performance requirements will apply to a given
vehicle type ranging from tyres through to exhaust emissions
and braking systems. To ensure a consistent approach, the
test methodology is outlined in the relevant EC Directive /
Regulation or UN Regulation and the tests are carried out
at an appropriate facility. If you are a vehicle manufacturer,
your supply chain will probably have system and component
approvals in place already.
Once all of the system and component approvals are in place,
the vehicle will be considered as a whole by a designated
approval body; in the UK this is VCA. This assessment can
take place at your facility, providing you have the appropriate
equipment and environment. A successful inspection will
result in the issue of a European Whole Vehicle Type Approval
Certificate. This certification will be accepted throughout the
EC without the need for further testing until a standard is
updated or your design changes. Once a vehicle is approved,
the manufacturer should have processes in place to produce a
Certificate of Conformity (CofC) for each vehicle manufactured.
A successful inspection
will result in the issue of a
European Whole Vehicle Type
Approval Certificate.
This is a declaration by the manufacturer that the particular
vehicle has been manufactured in conformity with the approved
specification.
Conformity of Production (CoP) is an integral part of the
approval process. Essentially, this involves the evaluation of
your manufacturing processes to ensure that each product is
manufactured in accordance with the approved specification.
If you have a formal quality system in place, such as ISO 9001
or ISO/TS 16949, the level of CoP inspection may be reduced
or even not required. VCA is also a management systems
certification body, specialising in the automotive industry.
What is a type?
On the face of it, you may feel that you have many vehicles
to approve but in practice, these may boil down to just a few
‘types’. But how is a type defined?
Essentially, a type can best be viewed as a range of vehicles,
which share a set of fundamental characteristics (these are
described in Directive 2007/46/EC (as amended) at Part B of
Annex II)
In multi-stage type approval, where the vehicle is built and
approved in more than one stage, such as a manufacturer
building a chassis cab and a body builder/converter adding
a tipper body, the body builder/converter will need to get
a type approval corresponding to each of the base vehicle
manufacturer’s chassis types. However, many areas of a vehicle
are not covered by type approval and as such will not have an
impact on the ‘type’. For example, (generally) the bodywork on
a truck will not affect the type, so it is possible to include box
vans, curtainsiders, tippers and flatbeds as ‘variants’on the same
approval and it may not matter if other equipment (such as
winches, sheeting equipment, etc.) were fitted.
Next Steps:
To find out more contact one of the team or complete the
online application form at: www.dft.gov.uk/vca
www.dft.gov.uk/vca
8 | Vehicle Certification From Automotive Specialists
EC Small Series Type Approval
(ECSSTA) has been created for
low volume car (category M1)
producers only.
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY SMALL SERIES TYPE
APPROVAL (ECSSTA)
EC Small Series Type Approval (ECSSTA) has been created
for low volume car (category M1) producers only. Like full
European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA)
ECSSTA will allow Europe wide sales but with technical and
administrative requirements that are more adapted to smaller
businesses. Technical requirements are outlined in the Appendix
to Part 1 of Annex IV of the framework directive.
However, if you choose this route to approval, you will be
limited to the number of vehicles you can manufacture within
the year. The limit for cars produced is 1,000 per type each year
in the whole of the EU.
In multi-stage type approval, where the vehicle is built and
approved in more than one stage, each manufacturer’s chassis
type will require a type for the following stage.
Next Steps:
To find out more contact one the team or complete the online
application form at: www.dft.gov.uk/vca
What is a type?
On the face of it, you may feel that you have many vehicles
to approve but in practice, these may boil down to just a few
“types”. But how is a type defined?
Essentially, a type can best be viewed as a range of vehicles,
which share a set of fundamental characteristics (these are
described in the Directive at Part B of Annex II)
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If you manufacture modest
numbers of vehicles then this
route to approval may be right
for you.
NATIONAL SMALL SERIES TYPE APPROVAL
(NSSTA)
If you manufacture modest numbers of vehicles then this route
to approval may be right for you. Again, this option is based on
the concept of “type” approval rather than the approval of
individual vehicles. The key advantages of this scheme are that
some technical requirements may be reduced, which will have an
impact on the costs associated with the approval process and
the Conformity of Production (CoP) requirements will be
appropriate and proportionate to the scale of your operation.
However, the key disadvantages revolve around the fact that you
will be limited to the number of vehicles you can manufacture in
the year and there is a limited requirement for other Member
States to accept National approvals.
As with ECWVTA the manufacturer will be responsible for the
issue of Certificates of Conformity within the limited numbers
set out in the relevant legislation.
What is a type?
On the face of it, you may feel that you have many vehicles to
approve but in practice, these may boil down to just a few
“types”. But how is a type defined?
Essentially, a type can best be viewed as a range of vehicles,
which share a set of fundamental characteristics (these are
described in the Directive at Part B of Annex II)
In multi-stage type approval, where the vehicle is built in more
than one stage, such as a manufacturer building a chassis cab and
a body builder/converter adding a tipper body, each
manufacturer’s chassis type will require a type for the following
stage.
Limits for vehicles produced per type each year
Categories:
M1
M2/M3
N1
N2/N3
O1/O2
O3/O4
Units:
75
250
500
250
500
250
Next Steps:
To find out more contact one the team or complete the online
application form at: www.dft.gov.uk/vca
www.dft.gov.uk/vca
10 | Vehicle Certification From Automotive Specialists
INDIVIDUAL VEHICLE APPROVAL (IVA)
If you are making just a single vehicle or very small numbers
of a vehicle type, you may wish to use the IVA scheme. The
IVA scheme is the least onerous of the approval routes in
terms of compliance but involves an individual inspection of
each vehicle. Again, this route to approval gives sales rights
only within the UK, not automatically throughout the rest of
Europe.
Further information on the scheme is available at: www.gov.uk
The IVA scheme is the least
onerous of the approval routes in
terms of compliance but involves
an individual inspection of each
vehicle
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ADVICE FOR MULTI-STAGE BUILDERS
The concept of multi-stage approval applies across the
certification routes and is outlined in more detail here.
Many vehicles are built using a process whereby a base vehicle
(normally a chassis or chassis/cab) is produced and then
another manufacturer (normally a body builder or converter)
subsequently finishes the vehicle. To complement this real life
situation a Multi-Stage Approval process is available to enable
the chassis manufacturer to approve the chassis (the first stage)
as an “incomplete vehicle”, when a body builder or converter
approves the vehicle subsequently (at the final stage) it becomes
a “completed vehicle”.
Sometimes “complete” vehicles will form the base vehicle in
a process, for example where a panel van is converted into a
minibus. There will always be two or more stages in the MultiStage Approval process and each of the manufacturers is only
responsible for the type approval and Conformity of Production
(CoP) for the elements of the vehicle construction done at their
particular stage of the construction of the vehicle.
The flow of information between parties is extremely important
in the Multi-Stage Approval process, the manufacturer at any
subsequent stage needs to understand the state of build of the
vehicle at previous stages and whether any of their additions
or modifications will affect the validity of the approval from
previous stages. Body builders and converters will generally
require access to the base vehicle manufacturer’s approval
information.
The base vehicle will normally retain the “make” of the first
stage manufacturer and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
issued on the original Certificate of Conformity (CoC) to
ensure that traceability is maintained. Manufacturers at
subsequent stages have to add their own plate with their name,
the stage of the approval, the VIN and the approval number plus
any revised vehicle weight information.
Generally speaking it is possible to approve to an equal or lower
standard at subsequent stages in the approval process. For
example, if stage 1 has an approval to ECWVTA you can get
either an ECWVTA or an approval under the National schemes.
However, if stage 1 has a National approval you cannot get an
ECWVTA based on that at a subsequent stage.
Next Steps:
To find out more contact one the team or complete the online
application form at: www.dft.gov.uk/vca
www.dft.gov.uk/vca
12 | Vehicle Certification From Automotive Specialists
TYPE APPROVAL – THE PROCESS
Initial Discussions
Test Facility Review
Initial assessment and
ongoing surveillance
(but not repeated
for each and every
indiividual approval)
Initial Documents Submission
(one-off for new facility)
(define specification)
Conformity of Production
Review (COP)
Entry in Facility
Register
Decide vehicles or
Components to be tested to
cover range
*S&C
UNSATISFACTORY
Assessment or suitable ISO 9001
certificate and control plans agreed
UNSATISFACTORY
FEES
AGREED
SATISFACTORY
*WV
SATISFACTORY
(COP) - Conformity of
Production Granted
Test overseen by VCA or VCA’s
Technical Service
(New plants added as necessary)
*S&C FAIL
*WV FAIL
REINSPECT
PASS
Amended Documents
Submitted
Final Documents Submission
(if any changes from initial documents)
*S&C
DOCUMENTS UNSATISFACTORY
*WV
DOCUMENTS SATISFACTORY
*S&C = System and
Report and Certificate issued
by VCA
FEES PAID
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Component Approvals
*WV = EC or NSSTA Whole
Vehicle (can be in parallel with similar flows etc)
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CONFORMITY OF PRODUCTION (COP)
Conformity of Production (CoP) is a fundamental requirement
in any type approval.You will need a means of evidencing your
ability to produce a series of products that exactly match the
specification, performance and marking requirements defined
in the type approval documentation. This will be in the form
of at least a quality manual, process documents and control
plans. Whether you are a manufacturer, or the agent applying
for approvals on behalf of a manufacturer, and whatever your
product is, suitable CoP arrangements must be made.
Further information is available on the VCA website at www.dft.
gov.uk/vca
Next Steps:
To find out more contact one the team or complete the online
application form at: www.dft.gov.uk/vca
If you have a formal quality system in place, such as ISO 9001
or ISO/TS 16949, the level of CoP inspection may be reduced
or even not required. VCA is also a management systems
certification body, specialising in the automotive industry so can
help you with this.
www.dft.gov.uk/vca
14 | Vehicle Certification From Automotive Specialists
ONLINE TOOLS TO SUPPORT YOU THROUGH THE PROCESS
On the face of it, tackling the vehicle certification process may
seem a little daunting. At VCA we understand this so as well as
being on hand to provide expert advice and testing services, a
number of online tools have been developed to support you still
further.
The tools draw on approaching 40 years experience of
supporting manufacturers of all sizes through the Type Approval
process.
The following provides an outline of the tools available and how
they might be able to help you, not only with initial certification
but with the management of ongoing compliance.
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VCA VISTA AND LEGSTAT
Gaining your initial certification is in many ways the start of
a longer journey. Ensuring ongoing compliance means that
you need to have processes in please to monitor changes in
legislation. Having an effective mechanism in place will ensure
that you take account of changes in plenty of time.
Clearly monitoring legislation can be a time consuming process.
Bearing this in mind,VCA has developed a number of online
tools, which could provide real efficiencies for you and your
business. Supplied on a subscription basis, the tools not only
provide legislation relevant to you, they also provide VCA
interpretations. The tools are:
VCA VISTA
VCA LegStat
VISTA is a searchable collection of all of the automotive EC
Directives / Regulations and UN Regulations required for Type
Approval contained within three separate electronic libraries.
The Car, Truck and Bus libraries contain all of the standards
required for cars, goods vehicles, buses and trailers and include
standards which deal solely with components or Separate
Technical Units (STU’s). Separate Tractor and Motorcycle
libraries are available for customers whose interest is limited to
these areas.
LegStat is an on-line database containing all of the key date
information about each of the standards applicable in Type
Approval. The key benefit with this particular system is that
subscribers have the opportunity to receive e-mail notifications
of impending key dates, prior to, or on the day that they come
into force. This on-line system can be integrated with the online version of VISTA to provide a total solution to management
of Type Approval legislation.
Along with the standards,VISTA includes a number of other
information assets, including our own UK Interpretations of
points raised against the legislation.
Customers can choose to subscribe to a full or part library,
delivered either by CD-ROM with bi-monthly updates,
or by logging on to a web-enabled version of the system.
Subscriptions are for a one-year period and will vary according
to the level of information required and the number of users
wishing to utilise the database.
Next Steps:
To find out more about VISTA or LegStat, visit the ‘Legislation’
section of the VCA website or contact:
+44 (0)117 952 4178 / 41436
vista@vca.gov.uk
www.dft.gov.uk/vca
16 | Vehicle Certification From Automotive Specialists
GLOSSARY OF FREQUENTLY USED TERMS
Term
Explanation
EC Type Approval
Means the procedure whereby an authority of an EU member state certifies that a type of vehicle, system, component or separate technical unit satisfies relevant technical requirements and administrative provisions listed in the
Directive.
National Type Approval
Means a Type Approval procedure laid down by the national law of an EU member state, which is restricted to that
particular country.
Vehicle Category
Refers to the different forms of vehicles affected by the ECWVTA Directive. These are passenger vehicles (M), goods
vehicles (N) and trailers (O), and their sub-divisions.
Type
Means vehicles of a particular category, which do not differ in certain essential respects set out in Annex II of the
framework Directive 2007/46/EC, as amended.
New Type
When looking at application dates within the legislation there will be a reference to ‘New Types’. After this date,
vehicles of a ‘New Type’ will be required to meet the legislation in question. A ‘New Type’ is a vehicle that differs in
certain essential respects to a type previously approved or on sale in any market.
Existing Type
As above. An ‘Existing Type’ is a vehicle of a type already in existence (whether approved or not).
Complete Vehicle
Means any vehicle which has been built in one stage by one manufacturer, for example a panel van.
Incomplete Vehicle
Is a vehicle that must undergo at least one further stage of build in order to be considered a finished vehicle, ready
for use. For example, a chassis cab is an incomplete vehicle since a body must be added for it to be finished.
Completed Vehicle
Is a vehicle that has been built and finished in more than one stage, normally by two or more different manufacturers. For example, a concrete mixer where a company has added the additional components (i.e. the mixer itself) to a
cab chassis and the vehicle requires no further work before it can be considered finished.
Multi-Stage Type Approval
The procedure whereby one or more EU member states certify that, depending on the state of completion, an
incomplete or completed type of vehicle satisfies the relevant administrative provisions and technical requirements
of the Directive.
Special-purpose Vehicle
Means a vehicle intended to perform a function which requires special body arrangements and/or equipment, such
as an ambulance or a wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV).
Conformity of Production
Certificate (COP)
Means a document issued to a manufacturer after an assessment, carried out by the approval body, of production
processes and systems to certify that they conform to the required quality specification.
Certificate of Conformity
or CoC
Means a document which is issued by a manufacturer, certifying that a vehicle has been produced under the same
production processes and systems as an example of the type which has achieved Type Approval.
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VCA SERVICES
ECWVTA
System & Component Approval
Test Facility Appraisal
Online Management Tools (FMS)
Online Legislation (VISTA)
Recreational Craft Approval
CEN Certification
Non-Road Mobile Machinery Certification
Management Systems Certification
www.dft.gov.uk/vca
Contact Us
+44 (0) 117 952 42 35
enquiries@vca.gov.uk
www.dft.gov.uk/vca
1 Eastgate Office Centre
Eastgate Road
Eastville
Bristol
BS5 6XX
http://www.dft.gov.uk/vca/world-map.asp
VCA - Delivering a Safer Environment