43. The expert from FIVA presented ECE/TRANS/WP.29/GRSG/2024/5 that introduced a definition of historic vehicles for R.E.3. He explained that the proposal of amendment would support the develop an international regulatory safeguard in favour of automotive heritage that can be adopted by the contracting parties of the 1958 Agreement. He added that for the sake of building on a definition that was already in consensus among contracting parties, it was proposed to adopt the definition of historic vehicles already in the European Union Directive on roadworthiness testing (2014/45/EU), which had been incorporated into European Union law. The expert from Norway introduced GRSG-127-26, proposing an amendment to the proposal of the expert of FIVA. He did suggest to await finalization of the European Union regulation on end of life to align the definition of historic vehicles. The expert from Sweden stated that R.E.3 dealt with new vehicles and discouraged the use of old vehicles. The expert from Spain said that historical vehicles are not part of transport but are part of historical heritage. He added that historical vehicles should be regulated and considered by the Inland Transport Committee and by the Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety (WP.1). The expert from United Kingdom questioned the proper placement of this request since R.E.3 dealt with new vehicles, making thirty-year-old vehicles outside the periodic technical inspection procedures. He added that GRSG and WP.29 could not control the use of historical vehicles since some owners were replacing parts, for example, internal combustion engines with electric ones, and radial tires. Therefore, he recommended careful consideration of this issue. The expert from Germany proposed to develop ideas and suggested agreeing to the principle of low-speed vehicle application. The expert from FIVA replied that his organization was looking for a legal allocation of the definition since the same one was proposed for the end-of-life regulation of the European Union.

44. Finally, GRSG agreed to resume discussion on this subject at its October 2024 session.