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Dear all,
I had no knowledge of this but it is about to be made law (in February) unless we act.
Basically it's being done to prevent the registration of Chinese built vehicles but American vehicles are being caught in the cull.
The second phase is to evidently restrict the import of older US vehicles.
We need to write to our MEP's voicing our disagreement.
I will find out if there is a standard letter drafted to this effect and post.
If anyone has access to other related forums, clubs, groups etc then please pass this on as a matter of urgency.
I personally don't know the nuts and bolts of this but I'd be happy to try and answer any questions and/or find out the answers. Tony Cohen from ACI/AIAA is the guy heading this up but I know he is incredibly tied up with dealing with this!
This is actually real and about to happen so please make yourselves heard!
Cheers,
Stew
29th December 2009
Ms Neelie Kroes
Commissioner for Competition
European Commission
Rue de la Loi 200
B 1049 Brussels
Belgium
FROM THE AMERICAN IMPORT AGENTS ASSOCIATION
57-63 Coburg Road, Wood Green, London N22 6UB, United Kingdom
Re- Draft Proposal for Harmonised Individual Vehicle Approval
“I feel that as policy-makers we should be able to get our relationship right and together tear down remaining barriers, so that businesses on both sides of the Atlantic can continue to flourish”.
Speech by Catherine Ashton at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Washington D.C., 26 October 2009
Dear Commissioner Kroes,
On behalf of the American Import Agents Association (AIAA), who are involved in the importation of new American vehicles into the UK, we are writing to ask for your urgent support to prevent the adoption of a new draft Harmonised Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) proposal that will undermine consumer choice and decimate a longstanding micro industry across Europe.
By failing to recognise or respect the legitimacy of the small independent vehicle import market for North American vehicles in Europe, the Commission may have been negligent in its duties. In developing these draft regulations we believe that the Commission, under intense pressure from the FIA, has been over zealous in its attempt to protect human health and life and in so doing may have been guilty of maladministration. When the AIAA first contacted the Commission about the proposal for Harmonised IVA, we were only seeking an amendment to permit left hand drive very low volume North American imports to stay within the UK’s National IVA scheme. However, as the scheme has evolved and its potential impact has been revealed, we have been forced to question the entire scheme and make the following claims.
The AIAA is a group of long-standing family run micro-businesses, typically employing 2-6 people that offer assistance to consumers in the UK, who wish to import an American vehicle not offered for sale by the manufacturers in Europe. We are typical of similar businesses all over Europe. Our members also provide or arrange servicing, parts supply, warranties and other facilities offered by a car dealer to ensure compliance with the legal obligations relating to consumer protection. As the vehicles are not imported by the manufacturers, we display an extra duty of care to look after the consumer, and often receive referrals from the manufacturers customer service help-lines in the UK to deal with customer queries. The AIAA is recognised by the UK Government as a legitimate stakeholder in the Motor Trade and is an active member of DfT’s Light Vehicle Trade User Group
Most of the cars imported are new vehicles ordered in advance by a consumer who wants to drive an unusual vehicle. The vehicles do not undermine the Type Approval system, as the volumes imported are extremely low, and they are mainly bought by enthusiasts. New American vehicles have been independently imported into Europe for over 50 years. These vehicles are not built to European standards, but are built to broadly equivalent Federal or Canadian safety and environmental standards. To register a vehicle in a Member State, each vehicle has to be submitted to a National homologation process called Individual vehicle Approval (IVA). As it says in the Commission’s Interpretative communication on procedures for the registration of motor vehicles originating in another Member State SEC/2007/0169, “National type-approval and individual approval procedures for motor vehicles to be used or registered for the first time in the EU normally fall outside the scope of EC law.”
This micro-industry supports a whole infrastructure of specialist businesses and dozens of specialist car clubs. (See attachment 1-Paper on American Vehicles in the UK) Unless the draft proposal is withdrawn, there are literally hundreds of thousands of European citizens whose lives will be adversely affected without a compelling justification. The draft regulations are only aimed at new vehicles (defined as mass produced vehicles under 6 months old), indicating the discriminatory and anti-competitive nature of the draft proposal.
In the UK, there are currently less than 500 new American vehicles imported each year, comprising dozens of different models. This compares to circa 2.25 million new passenger cars(M1) and light commercial vehicles (N1) that the SMMT’s members will register in the UK in 2009. In the 27 Member States during 2009, we estimate that for M1 and N1 vehicles, 38,000 new vehicles will have used National IVA schemes out of a total new vehicle registration figure of 16.1 million vehicles-i.e. 0.24 percent. (Source ACEA website) In other words, the ACEA’s members will have accounted for 99.76% of all new Passenger Car and Light Commercial vehicles sold in Europe in 2009. In 2010, can the European consumer not enjoy any choice beyond what the manufacturers have planned for him/her to purchase?
With these draft Harmonised regulations, the Commission seems to have grossly over-reacted to a case from a few years ago where 300 allegedly unsafe identical Chinese Landwind vehicles were unwisely approved by a rubber-stamp method in Germany. This has led to an intensive lobbying campaign from the FIA to restrict any vehicles that did not have European type approval, a process only available to manufacturers. (See attachment 2 -Statement from the FIA-Loophole in the European Type Approval?). This inappropriate method of rubber-stamping approval is not in the spirit of single vehicle approval and is not condoned by the AIAA. This “customer orientated” approach has certainly never occurred in the UK where every single vehicle is independently and objectively inspected by the UK authorities.
It is worth noting that contrary to what was said by the FIA in their media statement, the reason the former German Single Vehicle Approval process was used as a popular method to gain approval for American vehicles, is not because it was normally lax or the lowest common denominator. After the Second World War, Germany had many American forces stationed on its territory, and as a result, it had to find a way to legally accept the American vehicles, even though they were not built to German standards. The German system of single vehicle approval (Einzelbetriebserlaubnis) was therefore developed under the scope of the StVZO, in order to legally exempt a non-compliant, yet safe vehicle, so that it could be registered and driven on the road. The German system naturally became favoured by citizens in other Member States as it provided the applicant with a legal document, the Fahrzeugbrief, which contained many of the vehicles’ technical characteristics and standards it had been assessed against. This German system, in many parts of Europe, became the benchmark for single vehicle approval and could often be relied upon in gaining mutual recognition.
It is only seen as a loophole by the FIA who are taking a dispoportionate and protectionist line. Far from it, this German system helped to ensure that the single market rules actually worked, in the absence of harmonisation. The system of Mutual Recognition is explained fully for vehicles approved on an individual basis in the Commission’s Interpretative communication on procedures for the registration of motor vehicles originating in another Member State (SEC/2007/0169). Consequently, the FIA media statement was not just attacking the right to import an individual vehicle through a well established and legitimate National approval process. It was also attacking the whole concept of Mutual Recognition - one of the most fundamental legal concepts of the Single Market in the absence of harmonised standards.
To respond to the Chinese Landwind problem, the Commission made it mandatory for each Member State to operate a National Individual Vehicle Approval scheme. The regulations on this new scheme are found in Article 24 of the Framework Directive 2007/46/EC. This article relies on Member States to provide administrative provisions and technical requirements which aim to ensure a level of road safety and environmental protection, which is equivalent to the greatest extent practicable to the level provided for by the provisions of the European Type Approval standards. Under the scope of these regulations, the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality apply, and the rights of businesses and consumers are protected. For reasons of proportionality, the UK has a right hand drive - high volume IVA test and a left hand drive - low volume IVA test. (See attachment 3 - Regulatory Impact Assessment from the UK Better Regulation Executive) The left hand drive low volume approval process is one that the Commission insisted that the UK authorities adopt in 2000 and was also endorsed by the SMMT.
Cont'd V V
I had no knowledge of this but it is about to be made law (in February) unless we act.
Basically it's being done to prevent the registration of Chinese built vehicles but American vehicles are being caught in the cull.
The second phase is to evidently restrict the import of older US vehicles.
We need to write to our MEP's voicing our disagreement.
I will find out if there is a standard letter drafted to this effect and post.
If anyone has access to other related forums, clubs, groups etc then please pass this on as a matter of urgency.
I personally don't know the nuts and bolts of this but I'd be happy to try and answer any questions and/or find out the answers. Tony Cohen from ACI/AIAA is the guy heading this up but I know he is incredibly tied up with dealing with this!
This is actually real and about to happen so please make yourselves heard!
Cheers,
Stew
29th December 2009
Ms Neelie Kroes
Commissioner for Competition
European Commission
Rue de la Loi 200
B 1049 Brussels
Belgium
FROM THE AMERICAN IMPORT AGENTS ASSOCIATION
57-63 Coburg Road, Wood Green, London N22 6UB, United Kingdom
Re- Draft Proposal for Harmonised Individual Vehicle Approval
“I feel that as policy-makers we should be able to get our relationship right and together tear down remaining barriers, so that businesses on both sides of the Atlantic can continue to flourish”.
Speech by Catherine Ashton at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Washington D.C., 26 October 2009
Dear Commissioner Kroes,
On behalf of the American Import Agents Association (AIAA), who are involved in the importation of new American vehicles into the UK, we are writing to ask for your urgent support to prevent the adoption of a new draft Harmonised Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) proposal that will undermine consumer choice and decimate a longstanding micro industry across Europe.
By failing to recognise or respect the legitimacy of the small independent vehicle import market for North American vehicles in Europe, the Commission may have been negligent in its duties. In developing these draft regulations we believe that the Commission, under intense pressure from the FIA, has been over zealous in its attempt to protect human health and life and in so doing may have been guilty of maladministration. When the AIAA first contacted the Commission about the proposal for Harmonised IVA, we were only seeking an amendment to permit left hand drive very low volume North American imports to stay within the UK’s National IVA scheme. However, as the scheme has evolved and its potential impact has been revealed, we have been forced to question the entire scheme and make the following claims.
The AIAA is a group of long-standing family run micro-businesses, typically employing 2-6 people that offer assistance to consumers in the UK, who wish to import an American vehicle not offered for sale by the manufacturers in Europe. We are typical of similar businesses all over Europe. Our members also provide or arrange servicing, parts supply, warranties and other facilities offered by a car dealer to ensure compliance with the legal obligations relating to consumer protection. As the vehicles are not imported by the manufacturers, we display an extra duty of care to look after the consumer, and often receive referrals from the manufacturers customer service help-lines in the UK to deal with customer queries. The AIAA is recognised by the UK Government as a legitimate stakeholder in the Motor Trade and is an active member of DfT’s Light Vehicle Trade User Group
Most of the cars imported are new vehicles ordered in advance by a consumer who wants to drive an unusual vehicle. The vehicles do not undermine the Type Approval system, as the volumes imported are extremely low, and they are mainly bought by enthusiasts. New American vehicles have been independently imported into Europe for over 50 years. These vehicles are not built to European standards, but are built to broadly equivalent Federal or Canadian safety and environmental standards. To register a vehicle in a Member State, each vehicle has to be submitted to a National homologation process called Individual vehicle Approval (IVA). As it says in the Commission’s Interpretative communication on procedures for the registration of motor vehicles originating in another Member State SEC/2007/0169, “National type-approval and individual approval procedures for motor vehicles to be used or registered for the first time in the EU normally fall outside the scope of EC law.”
This micro-industry supports a whole infrastructure of specialist businesses and dozens of specialist car clubs. (See attachment 1-Paper on American Vehicles in the UK) Unless the draft proposal is withdrawn, there are literally hundreds of thousands of European citizens whose lives will be adversely affected without a compelling justification. The draft regulations are only aimed at new vehicles (defined as mass produced vehicles under 6 months old), indicating the discriminatory and anti-competitive nature of the draft proposal.
In the UK, there are currently less than 500 new American vehicles imported each year, comprising dozens of different models. This compares to circa 2.25 million new passenger cars(M1) and light commercial vehicles (N1) that the SMMT’s members will register in the UK in 2009. In the 27 Member States during 2009, we estimate that for M1 and N1 vehicles, 38,000 new vehicles will have used National IVA schemes out of a total new vehicle registration figure of 16.1 million vehicles-i.e. 0.24 percent. (Source ACEA website) In other words, the ACEA’s members will have accounted for 99.76% of all new Passenger Car and Light Commercial vehicles sold in Europe in 2009. In 2010, can the European consumer not enjoy any choice beyond what the manufacturers have planned for him/her to purchase?
With these draft Harmonised regulations, the Commission seems to have grossly over-reacted to a case from a few years ago where 300 allegedly unsafe identical Chinese Landwind vehicles were unwisely approved by a rubber-stamp method in Germany. This has led to an intensive lobbying campaign from the FIA to restrict any vehicles that did not have European type approval, a process only available to manufacturers. (See attachment 2 -Statement from the FIA-Loophole in the European Type Approval?). This inappropriate method of rubber-stamping approval is not in the spirit of single vehicle approval and is not condoned by the AIAA. This “customer orientated” approach has certainly never occurred in the UK where every single vehicle is independently and objectively inspected by the UK authorities.
It is worth noting that contrary to what was said by the FIA in their media statement, the reason the former German Single Vehicle Approval process was used as a popular method to gain approval for American vehicles, is not because it was normally lax or the lowest common denominator. After the Second World War, Germany had many American forces stationed on its territory, and as a result, it had to find a way to legally accept the American vehicles, even though they were not built to German standards. The German system of single vehicle approval (Einzelbetriebserlaubnis) was therefore developed under the scope of the StVZO, in order to legally exempt a non-compliant, yet safe vehicle, so that it could be registered and driven on the road. The German system naturally became favoured by citizens in other Member States as it provided the applicant with a legal document, the Fahrzeugbrief, which contained many of the vehicles’ technical characteristics and standards it had been assessed against. This German system, in many parts of Europe, became the benchmark for single vehicle approval and could often be relied upon in gaining mutual recognition.
It is only seen as a loophole by the FIA who are taking a dispoportionate and protectionist line. Far from it, this German system helped to ensure that the single market rules actually worked, in the absence of harmonisation. The system of Mutual Recognition is explained fully for vehicles approved on an individual basis in the Commission’s Interpretative communication on procedures for the registration of motor vehicles originating in another Member State (SEC/2007/0169). Consequently, the FIA media statement was not just attacking the right to import an individual vehicle through a well established and legitimate National approval process. It was also attacking the whole concept of Mutual Recognition - one of the most fundamental legal concepts of the Single Market in the absence of harmonised standards.
To respond to the Chinese Landwind problem, the Commission made it mandatory for each Member State to operate a National Individual Vehicle Approval scheme. The regulations on this new scheme are found in Article 24 of the Framework Directive 2007/46/EC. This article relies on Member States to provide administrative provisions and technical requirements which aim to ensure a level of road safety and environmental protection, which is equivalent to the greatest extent practicable to the level provided for by the provisions of the European Type Approval standards. Under the scope of these regulations, the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality apply, and the rights of businesses and consumers are protected. For reasons of proportionality, the UK has a right hand drive - high volume IVA test and a left hand drive - low volume IVA test. (See attachment 3 - Regulatory Impact Assessment from the UK Better Regulation Executive) The left hand drive low volume approval process is one that the Commission insisted that the UK authorities adopt in 2000 and was also endorsed by the SMMT.
Cont'd V V