What is vehicle homologation
Vehicle homologation is the process through which a formal authority certifies that a vehicle is roadworthy and matches certain specified criteria laid out by the government. The formal authority could be the court of law, a government department, an academic organization, etc.
Method of Vehicle Homologation in India
Vehicle Homologation is important before selling or exchanging the vehicle. The method for vehicle homologation is mentioned below:
- Firstly, all the components of the vehicle are tested and verified.
- After doing the verification of the vehicle components, the fitting of components in the vehicle is tested. This involves the fitting of components like the electronic subassemblies, car audio systems, etc.
- After that, the systems in the vehicle are issued and their functioning is checked. If the systems fitted in the vehicle passes the test criteria, approval for marketing the vehicle is granted.
- Before granting the final approval to your vehicle for marketing, a final test is conducted to ensure everything in the vehicle is in order and in place. This test is known as the Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WVTA) or ‘Vehicle Certification Test’.
- The responsible authority verifies each component of the vehicle. The manufacturer is responsible for choosing the authority who approves the 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 the component clears the test which was developed by the legally recognized organization. All the approvals must be collected, and it needs to be determined whether the approval is granted or not to the vehicle under consideration.
- The approval is granted by the responsible authorities and it will be valid in all the countries that are mentioned in the report of approval.
Vehicle components that are tested
The 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 different categories are given as follows:
Active Safety
- Brake system
- Steering System
Passive Safety
- Passenger protection (this is verified through a crash test)
- Working on seat belts
- Child restraints
Components and Systems
- General lighting of the vehicle
- Horn, tires, mirrors of the vehicle
- Field of vision of the driver
- Warning Triangle
- Petrol Tank
- Rear View system
Environment
- The amount of fuel that is consumed by the vehicle
- EMC
- Pollution emitted by the vehicle
- Noise Emission
Professional authorities that perform vehicle homologation in India
Below given are the professional authorities that perform vehicle homologation:
- BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards)-Transport Divisional Council
- Ministry of Shipping, Road and Transport Highways
- The Ministry of Environments and Forests
- The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
The professional authorities that perform vehicle homologation in India are categorized into two different organizations i.e. one for emission testing and another one for performing safety checks. The Standing Committee of Implementation Legislation is responsible for making emission checks. The Technical Standing Committee performs safety checks. Some members of the Technical Standing Committee include ACMA, TMA, SIAM, MoHI&PE, BIS, and others. These agencies are named as the testing agencies.
