7. The WP.29 Secretary introduced informal documents WP.29-194-01, list of Working Parties, Informal Working Groups, and Chairs, and WP.29-193-02/Rev.1, calendar of meetings for 2025.

8. He recalled the request by China and Japan to move the May 2025 session of GRSP (5-9 May 2025), its seventy-fifth session, to the following week; as well as for the October session of GRSG (6-10), its 130th session: China wished to move the session one week later.

9. The WP.29 Secretary noted that the 2025 Calendar of meetings reflected the wish of WP.29 to hold the May 2025 session of GRVA in Bangkok. The representatives from Germany and Japan expressed their strong support and called upon the secretariat to accelerate the planning.

10. Related to the draft for Programme of Work (PoW) for 2025 in WP.29-194-30, he called upon the GR Chairs to review their respective lists of priorities. The representative of the European Commission proposed to also include a table for the priorities of the Informal Working Groups (IWGs) directly reporting to WP.29. Representatives of Germany, the Netherlands and the United States of America announced that they would provide their comments in writing. The representative of OICA proposed that some objective criteria be set up to determine the priorities.

11. The Chair of GRPE clarified that GRPE had agreed to refer to the Inland Transport Committee Decarbonization Strategy (ITC DS) in its list of priorities in generic terms. He added that more detailed activities on the implementation of the ITC DS would be developed in forthcoming sessions of GRPE.

12. The representative of France introduced WP.29-194-15 on retrofit activities for electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. The representative of the European Commission supported the initiative from Italy, France and Spain. He added the European Commission had a legal mandate to find solutions for the uptake of retrofitted vehicles and agreed to be involved in forthcoming discussions. The representative of Italy urged a quick development of an internationally harmonized tool under the purview of WP.29 to accelerate the pace of development of retrofit systems.

13. The representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland shared the view that retrofit systems were gaining momentum and agreed to stay informed on the topic. The representative of Spain shared his view that retrofit systems needed to be done in a safe and environmentally friendly way, highlighting the potential benefit of international harmonization. The representative of Sweden welcomed this initiative and was considering to be involved in it. The representative of CITA supported the initiative and reiterated the knowledge and expertise of some CITA members, for example with respect to approval of modified vehicles.

14. The Chair requested Italy, France and Spain and all interested parties to initiate the development of Terms of References (ToRs) for a dedicated IWG and to report back at the next session of WP.29.