Introduction of International Whole Vehicle Type Approval (IWVTA)

We are grateful to the authorities for their initiatives which have led to progress in international harmonization of regulations and certification year by year and the reduction of many non-tariff barriers towards the realization of a complete IWVTA. However, although international harmonization is progressing, even after the introduction of the IWVTA system in July 2018, the harmonization of regulations for devices subject to the IWVTA is insufficient, such as those for exhaust gas, fuel economy, and electricity consumption of passenger cars (UN-R154). In addition, there are still devices and systems that are not covered by IWVTA and therefore the use of IWVTA (UN-R0) has not progressed. In particular, Japanese government agreed to work together on the streamlining of vehicle certification since autumn last year, and have been holding detailed discussions since then. We submitted requests outlining the following: 1) Consistency of application documents for vehicle type designation, etc. with those for IWVTA, and 2) Regarding information that is not directly required for vehicle certification review and is necessary for procedures such as inspection, registration, and modification, the necessary data should be submitted to the authorities at the time when that information is required, and we have begun reviewing certification procedures such as certification implementation guidelines together with the government.