112. The representative of South Africa, Chair of the Informal Working Group introduced informal documentWP.29-188-16 highlighting key observations of the third and fourth meetings of the group to WP.29. He recalled questions were raised on the role of the IWG and how it tied to activities of the United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) project, “safer and cleaner used vehicles for Africa”. He also noted the African Organizations for Standardizations (ARSO) activities in the region which is aimed at improving intra-African trade while expressing the need coordination of related activities.

113. The Chair pointed out regions that had successfully implemented programs to ensure only safe and clean vehicles were imported and noted the IWG could learn from such regions. He referred to the on-going activities of the Life Cycle Assessment of vehicles at different levels within WP.29, he also noted these activities could feed into the work of the IWG.

114. The Chair noted even though there was little participation from African countries, WP.29 had a responsibility to ensure that vehicles driven in these regions as well as those transferred to different regions on a global scale, could ensure protection of its users. The chair invited WP.29 to consider informal documents WP.29-18-14, WP.29-18-15 and WP.29-18-16 for adoption.

115. The representative of the United States of America, Vice-Chair of the IWG, mentioned the UNRSF project and highlighted the results of UNEP’s intervention within the project that had established policies in West and East Africa where Euro 4/IV emission levels were identified as a minimum requirement without inclusion of other equivalent emission levels. He emphasized the need to reconcile the different related activities and the inclusion of other emission and safety regimes.

116. The representative of OICA reminded WP.29 of its 2019 Manifesto on Global Road Safety with recommendations on the requirements that countries with an emerging automotive market could put in place for new vehicles and possibly extend to used vehicles depending on the country’s government. He said the manifesto had been updated and recently published with new requirements and this could be useful to the work of the IWG. In conclusion he noted the manifesto covered only vehicle safety elements.

117. The representative of Sweden echoed the opinion of the United States of America on global inclusion of emission levels. He highlighted that the Basel Convention and the EU’s End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Directive were legal instruments that still try to differentiate between waste and vehicles, which is not in the scope of PTI. He identified PTI as a specific legal instrument that can certify a vehicle as safe to be driven in the region of registration and can be applied in different regions and legislation. He concluded that there a was need for coordination between relevant authorities in the European Union.

118. The representative of Germany mentioned its involvement in the export of used vehicles to different regions while highlighting their experience in the registration and validation of vehicles however, due to restrictions of the data protection regime in force, the possibility to share vehicle information with receiving countries was limited. He said such restrictions could pose a challenge to importing countries in verifying how a vehicle was manufactured and if they met the necessary import requirement of a given country. He supported the statement of Sweden in addressing this issue at a European level through the ELV Directive once it had been reviewed.

119. The representative of the United States of America, Vice-Chair of the IWG, raised a question to clarify from OICA if the manifesto was focused on both new and used vehicles. The representative of OICA clarified that its focus is on new vehicles, but this may be applicable to used vehicles depending on the country’s government and how the manifesto is to be applied in a country.

120. The representative of FIA highlighted PTI as an important key to transfer of used vehicles and a good starting point to the work of the IWG. He noted it was important to define key criteria of PTI and how long each test should last within the framework of the IWG.

121. The Secretary of WP.29 noted there was need for shared responsibility from both importing and exporting countries. He called on exporting countries to ensure only technically safe and clean vehicles should be allowed to leave their countries to other regions. He also highlighted the harsh conditions at the port of export could affect some technical safety and environmental features of vehicles.

122. WP.29 adopted the Terms of Reference of the IWG and proposed the initial mandate of the group should last till the end of 2025.