8. The expert from the United States of America, on behalf of the co-sponsors (China, Japan, European Union and the members of IWG GTR No. 20, Phase 2) reported on the progress of the IWG meeting of Electric Vehicle Safety (EVS) – GTR, Phase 2. GRSP was informed that the last session had been held in December 2019 and that since then, IWG had held one virtual meeting on WebEx. He clarified that the meeting of co-sponsors on 25 June 2020 had been attended by delegates from the contracting parties, including the EC Joint Research Office, which hosted the meeting. He added that the main purpose was to inform IWG participants of any regulatory and research developments. He pointed out that since the outbreak of COVID-19 had slowed or stopped most of the activities by governments and the industry, an extension of the mandate may be needed. However, he said that it was very encouraging, that from information of the last meeting, manufacturers and labs were resuming their work. Moreover, he clarified that some of the outstanding technical issues that still need research and validation tests, including the methods for initiation of the thermal runaway propagation, and that the IWG was evaluating proposals from Canada and Japan. He also informed GRSP that IWG was evaluating an OICA proposal concerning in-use (during driving mode) low energy criteria and studying the sled test, because the acceleration values were too low and deemed inappropriate for heavy-duty vehicles. Moreover, he explained that the United States of America was sharing research reports that had been published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on cover battery diagnostics, battery thermal runaway triggering techniques, and management of stranded energy in a Rechargeable Electric Energy Storage System (REESS). He also added that China had informed IWG of its new national mandatory standard that was expected to be fully in force in January 2021, which covered functional requirements for acceleration and deceleration, and battery safety. He concluded that given the constraints, IWG had made good progress but most likely would need additional time and that the next virtual meeting was scheduled for September or early October 2020, where IWG plans were to discuss the mandate extension.