New EU-wide type approval for mobile machinery coming soon

27. November 2024

So far, construction machinery and other mobile equipment primarily intended for non-road use have required individual approvals for each EU country. This requirement has resulted in barriers to market entry for manufacturers, alongside enormous efforts and high costs. Homologation experts have called for harmonization of the rules for decades; the first initiatives in that direction were taken as early as 1992. Now a standardized directive for homologation within the European Union is finally imminent. It is likely to be adopted in the coming months for the new vehicle category U, which will be introduced at the same time. TÜV SÜD is already well prepared for the harmonized procedure.

Mobile machinery known as NRMM (non-road mobile machinery) has previously been excluded from harmonized regulations. The differences in homologation processes across the 27 EU Member States have created a situation of enormous complexity. The planned standardization of the process will now enable the industry to look forward to numerous advantages, according to Christian Krumbein-Schulze from TÜV Technische Überwachung Hessen. For example, manufacturers need not undergo a separate approval process in each EU country in the future. This will significantly accelerate market entry for new products and reduce the complexity of requirements concerning approval or, at a later stage, cross-border circulation of machinery when in operation. Studies have shown that this simplification may deliver potential savings of roughly as much as a billion euros over the next ten years. The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have already approved the draft regulation. The TÜV SÜD expert anticipates publication will take place soon. However, many details are still lacking and can only be put in place in implementing regulations. Under the draft regulation, the first approvals can be granted three years after publication. At the same time, during the first 11 years after publication, application of the regulation will still be optional for mobile machinery manufacturers, so that approval of vehicles under national law will remain possible.

As with existing vehicle type approval regulations, Technical Services will play an important role in the overall process. TÜV SÜD is well prepared. “We can provide expert full-scale support with our international network of experienced specialists,” says Andreas Schäffler, Business Development Manager Mobility Industry at TÜV SÜD.

The newly established vehicle class U applies to mobile machinery that is not designed for goods transport, but is approved for circulation on public roads up to maximum speeds of between 6 and 40 km/h - such as construction machinery and certain types of agricultural vehicles. The aim is to avoid duplicating approval processes for vehicles that already require approval under the Machinery Regulation.

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Presse contact: Vincenzo Lucá