What is Vehicle Homologation

The method of any formal authority approving a document after it passes the strict guidelines that are set by the organization is known as homologation.

The legal authority could be the court of law, a department in the government, an academic organization etc.

Before a vehicle is sold or exchanged, its components have to be approved by multiple official authorities. The method for the approval of a vehicle’s parts varies in every country. Different countries have different criteria for verification. Verification of the parts of the vehicle before they are sold collectively in a vehicle is vital. These necessary inspections enhance safety while traveling in the vehicle, preserve the environment in a better way and enhance the quality of components and the production procedure.

Vehicle Homologation in India

Vehicle homologation is necessary before the vehicle is marketed. The method of for homologation of a vehicle is described below:

• All the components of the vehicle have to be tested.

• After the vehicle components have been verified, the fitting of components has to be tested. This involves the fitting of components like the electronic subassemblies,car audio system etc.

• After fitting all the components in the vehicle, it is tested and permission for marketing the vehicle is granted, the systems in the vehicle is issued in the next step. Vehicle systems are tested to check if they work properly. If the systems of the vehicle pass the criteria under which the tests conducted, approval is granted to the vehicle.

• The ultimate test to be conducted before the approval is granted to the vehicle for being marketed and it is called the Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WVTA) test. It is also known as the ‘Vehicle Certification Test’.

• The responsible authority verifies each component of the vehicle. The manufacturer chooses the authority which is responsible for granting approval to the particular components. The manufacturer will be issuing a system approval according to the Central Motor Vehicle Rule (CMVR), 1989. The approval is granted depending on whether or not the particular component clears the test which was developed by the legally recognized organization. All the approvals must be collected and it has to be determined whether the approval is granted or not to the vehicle under consideration.

• The approval is granted by the authorities that are responsible and it will be valid in all the countries that are mentioned in the report of approval.

Vehicle Components That Are Tested

Vehicle parts that are tested during the process of verification can be classified into four categories, namely, Active safety, Passive safety, Components and Systems and the environment. The various items that come under the distinct categories are as follows:

Passive Safety

• Passenger protection(this is verified through a crash test)

• Working on seat belts.

• Child restraints.

Active Safety

• Brake system

• Steering System

Components and Systems

• General lighting of the vehicle

• Field of vision of the driver

• Horn of the vehicle

• Mirrors in the vehicle

• Warning Triangle

• Tires of the vehicle

• Petrol Tank

• Rear View system

Environment

• The amount of fuel that is consumed by the vehicle

• Pollution emitted by the vehicle

• EMC

• Noise Emission

Professional Authorities Which Perform Vehicle Homologation in India

Below listed are the professional authorities which tend to perform vehicle homologation across the country:

• BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards)-Transport Divisional Council

• Ministry of Shipping, Road and Transport Highways

It is again divided into two distinct organizations which perform the checking of different vehicle components and checks linked with Emissions and Safety.The Standing Committee of Implementation Legislation makes the emission checks. The Technical Standing Committee performs these safety checks. Some members of the Technical Standing Committee include ACMA, TMA, SIAM, MoHI&PE, BIS and others. These agencies are named as testing agencies.