 | |
| Abbreviation | WP.29 |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1952 |
| Type | Working Party |
| Legal status | Active |
Head |  Antonio Erario (2021-) |
Parent organization | UNECE Inland Transport Committee |
| Website | UNECE Transport - WP29 |
TheWorld Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations is a working party (WP.29)[1] of the Inland Transport Committee (ITC) of theUnited Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Its responsibility is to manage the multilateral Agreements signed in 1958, 1997 and 1998 concerning the technical prescriptions for the construction, approval of wheeled vehicles as well as their Periodic Technical Inspection and, to operate within the framework of these three Agreements to develop and amend UN Regulations, UN Global Technical Regulations and UN Rules, kind ofvehicle regulation.
WP.29 was established in June 1952 as the "Working Party of experts on technical requirement of vehicles", while its current name was adopted in 2000.
At its inception, WP.29 had a broader European scope. Since 2000, the global scope of this forum was recognized given the active participation of Countries in all continents, excluding the United States and Canada, who developed incompatible standards.[2]
The forum works on regulations coveringvehicle safety,environmental protection,energy efficiency andtheft-resistance.
This work affects de facto vehicle design and facilitates international trade.
There are six permanent Working Parties which are subsidiary bodies that consider specialized tasks, consisting of people with a specific expertise:[3]
The core of the Forum's work is based around the "1958 Agreement", formally titled "Agreement concerning the adoption of uniform technical prescriptions for wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts which can be fitted and/or be used on wheeled vehicles and the conditions for reciprocal recognition of approvals granted on the basis of these prescriptions" (E/ECE/TRANS/505/Rev.2, amended on 16 October 1995). This forms a legal framework wherein participating countries (contracting parties) agree on a common set of technical prescriptions and protocols fortype approval of vehicles and components. These were formerly called "UNECE Regulations" or, less formally, "ECE Regulations" in reference to the Economic Commission for Europe. However, since many non-European countries are now contracting parties to the 1958 Agreement, the regulations are officially entitled "UN Regulations".[4][5] According to the mutual recognition principle set in the Agreement, each Contracting Party's Type Approvals are recognised by all other Contracting Parties.
Formally signing the 1958 Agreement was possible till June 30 of that year, and five countries chose to do so:[6] Italy (March 28), Netherlands (March 30), West Germany (June 19), France (June 26), and Hungary (June 30). Sweden and Belgium acceded soon after. Originally, the agreement allowed participation ofECE member countries only, but in 1995 the agreement was revised to allow non-ECE members to participate. Current participants include the European Union and its member countries, as well as non-EU UNECE members such as Norway, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Azerbaijan, and even remote territories such as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia.
Contracting parties to the 1958 Agreement are referenced by a Distinguishing Number, historically corresponding to the chronological order in which the countries became such member parties. As of 2022[update], the participants of the Agreement, with their Distinguishing Number, were:[7][8]
| Dist. Number | Country | Effective date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Germany | 28 January 1965 | |
| 2 |  France | 20 June 1959 | |
| 3 | Italy | 26 April 1963 | |
| 4 |  Netherlands | 29 August 1960 | |
| 5 |  Sweden | 20 June 1959 | |
| 6 |  Belgium | 5 September 1959 | |
| 7 |  Hungary | 2 July 1960 | |
| 8 |  Czech Republic | 1 January 1993 | (formerlyCzechoslovakia) |
| 9 |  Spain | 10 October 1961 | |
| 10 |  Serbia | 12 March 2001 | (formerlyYugoslavia) |
| 11 |  United Kingdom | 16 March 1963 | |
| 12 |  Austria | 11 May 1971 | |
| 13 |  Luxembourg | 12 December 1971 | |
| 14 |  Switzerland | 28 August 1973 | |
| 16 |  Norway | 4 April 1975 | |
| 17 |  Finland | 17 September 1976 | |
| 18 |  Denmark | 20 December 1976 | |
| 19 |  Romania | 21 February 1977 | |
| 20 |  Poland | 13 March 1979 | |
| 21 |  Portugal | 28 March 1980 | |
| 22 |  Russian Federation | 17 February 1987 | |
| 23 |  Greece | 5 December 1992 | |
| 24 |  Ireland (as an EU member[9]) | 24 March 1998 | |
| 25 |  Croatia | 8 October 1991 | |
| 26 |  Slovenia | 25 June 1991 | |
| 27 |  Slovakia | 1 January 1993 | |
| 28 |  Belarus | 2 July 1995 | |
| 29 |  Estonia | 1 May 1995 | |
| 30 |  Republic of Moldova | 20 November 2016 | |
| 31 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 6 March 1992 | |
| 32 |  Latvia | 18 January 1999 | |
| 34 |  Bulgaria | 21 January 2000 | |
| 35 |  Kazakhstan | 8 January 2011 | |
| 36 |  Lithuania | 29 March 2002 | |
| 37 |  Turkey | 27 February 1996 | |
| 39 |  Azerbaijan | 14 June 2002 | |
| 40 |  North Macedonia | 17 November 1991 | |
| 41 |  Andorra | 11 April 2023 | |
| 42 |  European Union | 24 March 1998 | |
| 43 |  Japan | 24 November 1998 | |
| 45 |  Australia | 25 April 2000 | |
| 46 |  Ukraine | 30 June 2000 | |
| 47 |  South Africa | 17 June 2001 | |
| 48 |  New Zealand | 26 January 2002 | |
| 49 |  Cyprus | 1 May 2004 | |
| 50 |  Malta | 1 May 2004 | |
| 51 |  South Korea | 31 December 2004 | |
| 52 |  Malaysia | 4 April 2006 | |
| 53 |  Thailand | 1 May 2006 | |
| 54 |  Albania | 5 November 2011 | |
| 55 |  Armenia | 30 April 2018 | |
| 56 |  Montenegro | 3 June 2006 | |
| 57 |  San Marino | 26 January 2016 | |
| 58 |  Tunisia | 1 January 2008 | |
| 60 |  Georgia | 25 May 2015 | |
| 62 |  Egypt | 3 February 2013 | |
| 63 |  Nigeria | 18 October 2018 | |
| 64 |  Pakistan | 24 April 2020 | |
| 65 |  Uganda | 22 October 2022 | |
| 66 |  Philippines | 2 January 2023 | |
| 67 |  Viet Nam | 26 July 2023 | |
| 68 |  Kyrgyzstan | 1 September 2023 |
Most countries, even if not formally participating in the 1958 agreement, recognise the UN Regulations and either mirror the UN Regulations' content in their own national requirements, or permit the import, registration, and use of UN type-approved vehicles, or both. TheUnited States andCanada (apart from Lighting Regulations) are the two significant exceptions; the UN Regulations are generally not recognised and UN-compliant vehicles and equipment are not authorised for import, sale, or use in the two regions, unless they are tested to be compliant with the region's car safety laws, or for limited non driving use (e.g. car show displays).[10]
The 1958 Agreement operates on the principles oftype approval andreciprocal recognition. Any country that accedes to the 1958 Agreement has authority to test and approve any manufacturer's design of a regulated product, regardless of the country in which that component was produced. Each individual design from each individual manufacturer is counted as one individual type. Once any acceding country grants a type approval, every other acceding country is obliged to honor that type approval and regard that vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment as legal for import, sale and use. Items type-approved according to a UN Regulation are marked with anE and a Distinguishing Number, within a circle. This number indicates which country approved the item, and other surrounding letters and digits indicate the precise version of the regulation met and the type approval number, respectively.
Although all countries' type approvals are legally equivalent, there are real and perceived differences in the rigour with which the regulations and protocols are applied by different national type approval authorities. Some countries have their own national standards for granting type approvals, which may be more stringent than called for by the UN regulations themselves. Within the auto parts industry, a German (E1) type approval, for example, is regarded as a measure of insurance against suspicion of poor quality or an undeserved type approval.[11]
As of 2015[update], there are 135 UN Regulations appended to the 1958 Agreement; most regulations cover a single vehicle component or technology. A partial list of current regulations applying to passenger cars follows (different regulations may apply to heavy vehicles, motorcycles, etc.)
Recently, a new regulation, regulation 0 was introduced. Regulation 0, is the "International Whole Vehicle Type Approval (IWVTA)" while allow to define international compliance to a set of regulations.
European union also applies other UNECE regulations for cars produced in unlimited series: R34 — against fire,R28 — Audible warning,R21, R12, R26, R123 — Adaptive front-lighting,R121 — Location and identification of hand controls, tell-tales and indicators,R122 — Heating,R25 — Head restraints,R55 — combinations of vehicles,R67, R97, R110. European union also applies its own (non-UNECE) regulations such asEuropean Community regulations.[14]
The most notable non-signatory to the 1958 Agreement is theUnited States, which has its ownFederal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and does not recognise UN type approvals. However, both the United States and Canada are parties to the 1998 Agreement. UN-specification vehicles and components which do not also comply with the US regulations therefore cannot be imported to the US without extensive modifications.Canada has its ownCanada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, broadly similar to the US FMVSS, but Canada does also accept UN-compliant headlamps and bumpers. The impendingComprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union could see Canada recognise more UN Regulations as acceptable alternatives to the Canadian regulations.[15] Canada currently applies 14 of the 17 ECE main standards as allowable alternatives[citation needed] - the exceptions at this point relate to motorcycle controls and displays, motorcycle mirrors, and electronic stability control for passenger cars.[citation needed] These three remaining groups will be allowed in Canada by the time the ratification of the trade deal occurs.[citation needed]
Vehicles built in compliance with global safety and emissions regulations were still available to Americans in the period 1976-88, as individual imports. This was via thegrey market.[2] Many of the finest, iconic automobiles of theMalaise era,[2] such as theLamborghini Countach,Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL,Mercedes-Benz G-Class andRange Rover were officially forbidden to Americans, but this outlet proved viable for many years. The grey market reached 66,900 vehicles imported by individual consumers in 1985, and altered to meet U.S. design regulations.[16] It is no longer possible to import a vehicle into the United States as a personal import, with four exceptions, none of which permits Americans to buy recent vehicles not officially available in the United States.[17] Even prominent billionaireBill Gates and hisPorsche 959 have proven unable.[18]
Rather than a UN-style system of type approvals, the US and Canadian auto safety regulations operate on the principle of self-certification, wherein the manufacturer or importer of a vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment certifies—i.e., asserts and promises—that the vehicle or equipment complies with all applicable federal or Canada Motor Vehicle Safety, bumper and antitheft standards.[19] No prior verification is required by a governmental agency or authorised testing entity before the vehicle or equipment can be imported, sold, or used. If reason develops to believe the certification was false or improper — i.e., that the vehicle or equipment does not in fact comply — then authorities may conduct tests and, if a noncompliance is found, order a recall and/or other corrective and/or punitive measures. Vehicle and equipment makers are permitted to appeal such penalties, but this is a difficult direction.[20] Non-compliances found that are arguably without effect to highway safety may be petitioned to skip recall (remedy and notification) requirements for vehicles already produced.[21]
Historically, one of the most conspicuous differences between UN and US regulations was the design and performance ofheadlamps. TheCitroën DS shown here illustrates the large differences in headlamps during the 1940-1983 era when US regulations requiredsealed beam headlamps, which were prohibited in many European countries. A similar approach was evident with the US mandatory side marker lights.[22][23]
The "Agreement concerning the Establishing of Global Technical Regulations for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts which can be fitted and/or be used on Wheeled Vehicles", or 1998 Agreement, is a subsequent agreement. Following its mission to harmonize vehicle regulations, the UNECE solved the main issues (Administrative Provisions for Type approval opposed to self-certification and mutual recognition of Type Approvals) preventing non-signatory Countries to the 1958 Agreement to fully participate to its activities.
The 1998 Agreement is born to produce meta regulations called Global Technical Regulations without administrative procedures for type approval and so, without the principle of mutual recognition of Type Approvals. The 1998 Agreement stipulates that Contracting Parties will establish, by consensus vote, United Nations Global Technical Regulations (UN GTRs) in a UN Global Registry. The UN GTRs contain globally harmonized performance requirements and test procedures. Each UN GTR contains extensive notes on its development. The text includes a record of the technical rationale, the research sources used, cost and benefit considerations, and references to data consulted. The Contracting Parties use their nationally established rulemaking processes when transposing UN GTRs into their national legislation. As of October 2024,[update] the 1998 Agreement has 40 Contracting Parties[24] and 24 UN GTRs that have been established into the UN Global Registry.[25] Manufacturers and suppliers cannot use directly the UN GTRs as these are intended to serve the Countries and require transposition in national or regional law.
As part of theTransatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations, the issues of divergent standards in automobile regulatory structure are being investigated. TTIP negotiators are seeking to identify ways to narrow the regulatory differences, potentially reducing costs and spurring additional trade in vehicles.[19]
Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (OICA) hosts on its web site the working documents from various United Nations expert groups including World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations.[26]
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