Five years after the diesel scandal (“Dieselgate”), new EU rules will come into force on 1^st September 2020, which shall prevent those cases of fraud. New vehicles shall not only be checked stricter before they are placed on the EU market. For the first time it shall also be possible to determine whether approved vehicles also comply with legal requirements in practice, means in real traffic.

The regulation (EU) 2018/858 on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles shall improve the quality and independence of vehicle type-approval and testing, increases checks of cars already on the EU market and strengthens the overall system with greater European oversight.

Since the adoption of the regulation in 2018, car manufacturers, type approval agencies and other stakeholders have been working continuously to implement the new rules and adapt to the stricter requirements.

EA and its National Accreditation Bodies have worked also on the implementation of this regulation, because accreditation is a key element of the new rules on type approval of vehicles.

Type approval means the procedure for certifying that a vehicle meets all requirements to be placed on the market and for rigorous checking of manufacturers’ ongoing compliance with EU law, including emissions limits as laid out in separate regulation.

In order to ensure an effective implementation of the type-approval requirements, the current provisions on conformity of production shall be enhanced by, inter alia, providing for mandatory periodic audits of the conformity control methods and of the continued conformity of the automotive products concerned and, by reinforcing the requirements relating to the competence, obligations and performance of the technical services that carry out tests for whole-vehicle type-approval under the responsibility of approval authorities. The proper functioning of technical services is crucial for ensuring a high level of safety and of environmental protection and citizens’ confidence in the system.

Technical Service

Technical service’ means an organisation or body designated by the approval authority as a testing laboratory to carry out tests, or as a conformity assessment body to carry out the initial assessment and other tests or inspections.

The assessment methods of the technical services various significantly between the Member States. Therefore, it was necessary to harmonise the Member States’ practices for the assessment, designation, notification and monitoring of their technical services. Those procedural obligations shall remove any existing discrepancies in the methods used by, and in the interpretation of the criteria for the designation of technical services. In order to ensure adequate oversight and a level playing field across the Union, the assessment of an applicant technical service should include an on-site assessment.

For the purpose of granting EU type-approvals, the approval authority shall verify compliance with the technical requirements of this Regulation by means of appropriate tests that are performed by its technical services.

According the new regulation the type-approval authorities shall designate technical services. A technical service shall be established under the law of a Member State and have legal personality, except for a technical service belonging to a type-approval authority and except for an accredited in-house technical service of the manufacturer.

The competence requirements for technical services are set out in Article 70 of the regulation.

Before a type-approval authority designates a technical service, the type-approval authority or the national accreditation body shall assess it in accordance with the requirements laid down in Appendix 2 to Annex III of the regulation. The assessment shall include an on-site assessment in the premises of the applicant technical service, and, where relevant, of any subsidiary or sub-contractor, whether located inside or outside the Union.

In cases where the assessment is carried out by the national accreditation body, the applicant technical service shall deliver to the type-approval authority a valid accreditation certificate and the corresponding assessment report attesting that the technical service fulfils the requirements for the categories of activities for which the applicant technical service is applying to be designated.

Where the designation of a technical service is based on accreditation within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, the national accreditation body and the type-approval authority shall fully cooperate and shall exchange relevant information in compliance with Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, including incident reports and other information that relate to matters under the control of the technical service when that information is relevant for the assessment of the performance of the technical service.

You find further information on the new regulation (EU) 2018/858 on the EU Commission’s website https://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/new-rules-cleaner-and-safer-cars-start-apply-across-europe_en

The regulation (EU) 2018/858 can be downloaded here https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018R0858&from=EN