An international safety standard for electric and hybrid vehicles has been adopted this week as the ‘World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations’.
The adoption of the new type approval clears the way for the early uptake of electric cars across 41 countries which have mutual recognition of this approval.
The new regulations cover all types of electric vehicles: pure electric, hybrid, plug-in, as well as hydrogen fuel cells vehicles as regards to electric safety requirements. They set electric safety requirements of all types of electric road vehicles (passenger and commercial vehicles) which can exceed 25 km/h. One of the key requirements is that vehicles must provide users with an effective protection against electric shocks.
The World Forum-a subsidiary body of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)-is responsible for developing vehicle regulations aimed at increasing vehicle safety and environmental performance. It adopted the new version of UNECE Regulation No. 100 on Wednesday during its March session which concludes today.
This change in UNECE Regulation No. 100 reflects the growing interest of both manufacturers and customers for electric and hybrid vehicles, as evidenced at the Geneva motor show this year.
It offers car manufacturers the legal instrument to put into the market passenger and commercial vehicles with greener standards, reducing the costs and delays associated with multiple approvals in various countries.
The list of countries that that recognise the UNECE Regulation No. 100 includes the 27 Member States of the European Union, the European Union itself, as well as Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Malaysia, Montenegro, Norway, Russian Federation, Serbia, Switzerland, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia and Turkey. Several Asian countries, including Japan, are expected to apply the new version soon.
