The Eurocouncil of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile

European Bureau

MEDIA STATEMENT

FIA CONFERENCE: LOOPHOLE IN THE EUROPEAN TYPE APPROVAL?

STAKEHOLDERS PRONOUNCE EUROPE’S SAFETY CERTIFICATION REGIME LEGAL
BUT QUESTION SAFETY ETHICS

The FIA brought stakeholders together in Brussels, Tuesday 29th November to discuss the
current safety certification regime for putting cars on the roads in Europe. The European Type
Approval framework Directive 70/156/EC currently under review (in the modified legislative
proposal COM (2004) 0738) has revealed itself in recent weeks to be open to misuse with
serious potential threats to passenger vehicle safety.

The catastrophic results of the frontal crash tests of the Chinese Jiangling Landwind Sports
Utility Vehicle (SUV) performed by the German automobile club ADAC was the catalyst for
this debate. Incredible but true, this life-threatening vehicle has been legally placed on various
EU markets (Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands) in sizeable quantities without a
European Type Approval and without complying to the European crash standard.

In principle all serial produced passenger cars registered on the territory of the European
Union need a European type approval in accordance with Directive 70/156/EC. However, the
Chinese sports utility vehicle (SUV) Jiangling Landwind has been introduced using a milder
procedure ‘the individual vehicle approval’ whereby member states may allow vehicles as
“individual” units to be imported into their territory as long as they meet national safety and
environment requirements. Using this procedure, a Dutch importer infiltrated the Landwind
unit by unit, via Germany for sale on various European markets.

At a time when the European Commission’s road safety policy has been actively pursuing
since 2001, a 50% reduction in the annual number of death on the roads by 2010, the FIA
asked the various stakeholders, EU institutions, vehicle manufacturers and national type
approval authorities how we could arrive at the current state of affairs.

“With all the trouble that car manufacturers go through to protect the consumer by
making sure that type approval is as it should be, we can’t have exceptions.”
Max Mosley

FIA President, Max Mosley opened the conference underlining that the objective was to
resolve a serious potential threat to passenger vehicle safety irrespective of what the legal
situation might be. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the European New Car
Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) which has succeeded in motivating car manufacturers
to significantly improve the safety of their vehicles it was ironic that Mr Mosley, founding
Chairman of Euro NCAP should be discussing how to close loopholes that allow vehicles
using technologies of thirty years ago on today’s roads. “With all the trouble that car
manufacturers go through to protect the consumer by making sure that type approval is as it
should be, we can’t have exceptions, or backdoors or unusual routes for securing a market for
vehicles which don’t actually comply with the regulations in force.”

“We are not protectionist when it comes to trade policies, but we are very protectionist
when it comes to human lives.”
Ari Vatanen

In his introduction Ari Vatanen, Member of the European Parliament and road safety
rapporteur pointed out that “Whatever is in the consumer’s interest is also in the car

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manufacturer’s interest” and added that besides being a legal question to be discussed in the
conference it is also a moral question. Speaking about the Landwind being the first Chinese
car circulating on European roads he stated that “we are not protectionist when it comes to
trade policies, but we are very protectionist when it comes to human lives.” He added that “it
is very sad that Germany seems to play the role of the weakest link of the EU when it comes
to importing unsafe cars into the Community!”

“We observed the catastrophic performance at the impact of 64 km/h… The

compartment itself is used as the crash zone! The driver is squeezed totally by
intrusion and the collapsing compartment.”
Dr Wilfried Klanner

Dr Wilfried Klanner, Head of the ADAC’s Technical Laboratory which carried out crash tests
on the Jiangling Landwind Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) explained why he performed this test
and identified the loopholes which permitted this vehicle to be legally placed on the European
market.

“Low priced products are booming”, he said, “our members, when they see a SUV for only
€15,000 euros, are of course interested. But they come to us (ADAC) wanting to know if they
are safe. This is why we decided to crash test the Landwind”. He explained that even during
the inspection of the vehicle prior to the crash test ADAC’s concerns were raised. “Due to the
position of the steering gear directly behind the bumper and the design of the steering column
it was foreseeable that in a crash there would be a huge steering wheel intrusion into the
passenger area” he said. And indeed from the video footage shown it was clearly
demonstrated that the Jiangling Landwind does not pass the European frontal impact crash
standard (96/79/EC) (i.e. when crashed at a speed of 56 km/h) in terms of vertical and
horizontal steering wheel intrusion. Using the Euro NCAP frontal impact crash protocol (64
km/h) the Landwind collapsed completely. “We observed the catastrophic performance at the
impact of 64 km/h” he explained and added that “there is nearly no energy absorbance in the
crash zone itself leading to a huge compartment deformation. The compartment itself is used
as the crash zone! The driver is squeezed totally by intrusion and the collapsing
compartment.”

Dr Klanner described the three ways in which vehicles can be approved for entry on the
European market:
 European type approval – cars have to meet requirements set out in 56 EU
Directives. Among these, cars up to 2.5 t gross vehicle weight ( i.e. weight of the
vehicle plus the maximum weight a vehicle can carry as determined by the
vehicle manufacturer) must meet European crash standards (frontal and side
impact) under Directives 96/79/EC and 96/27/EC.
 Small series type approval – under Directive 70/156/ EEC cars do not need to
meet European crash standards when produced in a limited number (maximum of
500 units per year per Member State). This is intended to save small
manufacturers from disproportionate costs.
 Individual vehicle approval – via nationally operated approval systems cars do
not need to meet European crash standards. However they must satisfy (milder)
national safety and environmental checks. Although each individual vehicle unit
has to be separately approved there is no limitation on the number of vehicles an
individual may have approved. Once approved and registered by one Member
State, thanks to mutual recognition other Member States are obliged to accept
such vehicles on their roads.

Dr Klanner explained that “for single vehicle approval one can choose the country with the
lowest national requirements for approval and registration. With this a car can be circulated
around the European Union because of the mutual recognition. He added that “any number

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of cars of a model not meeting the crash regulations can be placed on the market with the
help of this procedure without any restrictions.”

Dr Klanner concluded by making a plea for stricter individual vehicle approval procedure with
a fixed maximum number of vehicles (less than that for small series approval) that can be
approved in this way.

“It is the responsibility of each Member State to act responsibly. There is no loophole if
everyone takes its responsibility.”
Dr Dolf Lamerigts

Dr Dolf Lamerigts, Technical Affairs Director of the ACEA (The European Automobile
Manufacturer Association) gave an overview of the existing European type approval regime.
While in his view there was no loophole to be closed, “There is always room for
improvements” and he stated that ACEA members were looking forward to the forthcoming
adoption of the Recast Type Approval Directive in 2006 that would extend the current regime
to cover more types and heavier vehicles.

About the individual approval Dr Lamerigts noted that “single vehicle approval by an individual
Member State is only valid in that Member State. It is the responsibility of each Member State
to act responsibly.” He concluded that “there is no loophole if everyone takes its
responsibility.”

“To argue whether it is a loophole or not is not helpful. There is a car for sale which should not
be for sale and therefore something should be done.”
Max Mosley

Following the statement of Dr Lamerigts Mr Mosley commented that “if we assume that Dr
Klanner’s test is correct, that he is right in saying that this car does not comply with European
legislation, then, if the car is for sale in the EU there is something wrong. To argue whether it
is a loophole or not is not helpful.” He added that “there is a car for sale which should not be
for sale and therefore something should be done.”

“Had I been asked to inspect the Landwind and had I found a design of a steering
column going straight to the front bumper I would have been extremely careful in
giving an approval.”
Dr Horst Safarovic

Dr Horst Safarovic of TÜV Nord, a German regional test centre for vehicle approval
explained the operation of such centres. The Jiangling Landwind entered the European
market after having been tested in accordance with the single vehicle approval procedure, by
the TÜV. He focused on the issue of whether there was a need for a harmonisation of the
individual vehicle approval in the EU.

Under German legislation (based on the StVZO) regional TÜV test centres inspected about
260,000 individual M1 vehicles in 2004. He explained that the individual vehicle approval
exists to facilitate various customer needs. In Germany any car that has been off the road for
more than 18 months must be approved before being put back into circulation. German
citizens returning from abroad with a vehicle not sold on the EU territory can also use this
approval system. Moreover there are those who build their own kit cars. However, he
conceded that about 100,000 series produced vehicles – intended for other markets – were
given individual vehicle approval.

German regional TÜV centres which are manned by highly qualified inspectors “offer
customer oriented services”. The single vehicle approval requires the lightest of

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documentation, no crash test, but at the same time a high cost per vehicle. There is also the
risk that the approval will not be recognised outside the Member State in which it is given. Dr
Safarovic revealed that it was possible for a manufacturer to go to various regional TÜV
centres in Germany and have an unlimited number of vehicles individually approved. “An
importer could go today to Munich, tomorrow to Hamburg and a day later to Hannover, they
would not know from each other.”

When asked how the inspectors could not have foreseen the potential lack of safety of the
Landwind given the position and design of the steering wheel column Dr Safarovic admitted
“had I been asked to inspect the Landwind and had I found a design of a steering column
going straight to the front bumper I would have been extremely careful in giving an approval.”

“I understand that one can only be married to one woman, now there are people who
manage to be married to four or five women in the course of their life, but it is usually
one after the other. Being married to 300 women on the same day would frankly be
overwhelming! That is apparently how Germany interprets the word individual…”
Dr Reinhard Schulte-Braucks

Dr Reinhard Schulte-Braucks, Head of the Automotive Unit at the European Commission

DG Enterprise, confirmed that the Commission sees a series of loopholes in the present
legislation. He stated that “the single vehicle approval is being abused by Member States”
and that “the weight of the vehicles is being modified and defined largely at the discretion of
the manufacturer.”

He announced that the European Commission will address these loopholes through the new
Framework Directive pending in Council and Parliament. The concept of type approval is
going to be extended beyond M1 vehicles, to buses, trailers and trucks. National small series
will be strictly limited per Member State. Moreover he added that “individual approval must
assure that there is a level of safety equivalent to the Community level foreseen in the
legislation of the European Type Approval. The weight limits for vehicles will not anymore be
defined by the manufacturers themselves.” He added “I am convinced that the 2.5 t limit is
outdated. We are confronted with ever bigger and heavier vehicles. We cannot close our eyes
in front of that and are starting to question the weight limit of 2.5 t and are going to raise it to
3.5 t wherever possible. This will be done after impact assessment.”

Dr Schulte-Braucks announced that “the European Commission will intervene in the particular
case of the Landwind. The Commission has written twice to Germany asking the German
authorities to justify themselves. We have in particular asked the question of whether it is still
an individual vehicle approval if 300 vehicles are being approved on the same day.” He
compared the individual vehicle approval to marriage. “I understand that one can only be
married to one woman, now there are people who manage to be married to four or five
women in the course of their life, but it is usually one after the other. Being married to 300
women on the same day would frankly be overwhelming! That is apparently how Germany
interprets the word individual…”

However he repeated that “an importer that gets an individual approval in one Member State
takes the risk to be confined to this Member State.” He concluded that “if all goes well the
Framework Directive will be adopted in 2006 and indicated that a first indication of changing
the weight limits will be contained in the future Pedestrian Protection Regulation that is close
to be approved by the Commission.” He added that “the Commission also will strike out
exemptions for vehicles between 2.5 and 3.5 t in the area of emissions. The Euro 5 regulation
will apply to vehicles up to 3.5 t.”

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“Car crash compatibility is one of the remaining big issues on passive safety”
Frank van West

On the subject of needed reinforcement of existing regulation conference moderator, Frank

van West pointed out that “car crash compatibility is one of the remaining big issues on
passive safety” and Dr Klanner added that “next year the automobile clubs will again carry
out compatibility tests to put the pressure on the decision makers and to set up the rules on
car crash compatibility.” Frank van West recalled that “the FIA carried out a major
investigation in 1996-1997, supported by the European Commission, which contains a lot of
precious and still valid information”. He suggested “pulling it out of the drawer and re-
examining the findings.”

“If the legislation is not up to scratch we have to change it! Our moral duty as a
legislator is to protect consumers. If we fail to do so, how can we anymore look at
ourselves in the mirror?”
Ari Vatanen

Ari Vatanen in closing the conference thanked the European Commission for acting on the
concerns raised by the European Parliament. He stressed that the objective was not to put up
trade barriers to Chinese imports but to guarantee the safety of citizens on Europe’s roads.
“We have to go beyond doing what is just legally right and actually do what is morally and
ethically right. The single vehicle approval may be legal but we all know that morally and
ethically we have to put this situation right and stop people dying on the roads.”

He concluded that “if the legislation is not up to scratch we have to change it! Our moral duty
as the Legislator is to protect consumers. If we fail to do so, how can we anymore look at
ourselves in the mirror?”

Notes for Editors

The conference was hosted by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and
moderated by Frank van West, FIA Technical Director.

The FIA via its affiliated members, national motoring and touring organisations represents 103
million motorists worldwide and more than 43 million citizens in the EU 25.

The FIA was a founding member of the crash test safety initiative Euro NCAP (the European
New Car Assessment Programme).

More information, photographic material and film footage of the Landwind crash test can be
obtained by sending an email to o.lenz@fiabrussels.com

For further details contact: Olivier Lenz – +32 2 282 08 25

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