The 51st session of the IWVTA Informal Group is scheduled for June 17, 2026, at 14:00 (CEST) in Flensburg as a hybrid meeting. The agenda includes adoption of the agenda and report of the 50th meeting, highlights from the 198th WP.29 session, consideration of UN R0/09 series of amendments with Annex 4 update, proposed amendments to Guidelines on Transitional Provisions, discussion of boosting IWVTA awareness and promotion, extension of mandates beyond November 2026 with proposed terms of reference, and any other business, with a future meeting proposed for November 12 in Paris.

Proposal to insert new paras. 12.15. and 12.16. to establish transitional provisions, and amend Annex 4, Part A, Section I to update the list of requirements for U-IWVTA. Para. 12.15. provides that as from the official date of entry into force of the 09 series of amendments, no Contracting Party applying this UN Regulation shall refuse to grant or refuse to accept an IWVTA issued pursuant to this UN Regulation as amended by the 09 series of amendments. Para. 12.16. provides that as from 1 September 2027, Contracting Parties applying this UN Regulation shall not be obliged to accept type approvals to any of the preceding series of amendments, first issued after 1 September 2027. The amendment updates the table in Annex 4 to specify series of amendments for various UN Regulations including amendments to UN R14, UN R16, UN R46, UN R48, UN R79, UN R94, UN R95, UN R100, UN R110, UN R127, UN R129, UN R134, UN R137, UN R138, and UN R154.

Proposal to amend the General Guidelines for United Nations regulatory procedures and transitional provisions in UN Regulations based on WP.29/2024/76, to move transitional provisions applicable to all series of amendments to the beginning of transitional provisions sections, retitle successive series provisions as “Transitional provisions for the XX Series” and “Transitional provisions for the XX+1 Series”, add footnote reference 6 to para. V.3, and correct terminology from “previous” to “preceding” in footnotes 4–6 for consistency.

The Informal Working Group on International Whole Vehicle Type Approval assists WP.29 in harmonizing vehicle regulations under the 1958 Agreement. It clarifies issues related to UN Regulation No.0 and General Guidelines on Transitional provisions, upgrades UN Regulations applicable to IWVTA annually, and submits amendment proposals to WP.29 each November. Short to mid-term objectives include proposing user-friendly U-IWVTA and packaged L-IWVTA by end of 2029. Long-term objectives involve submitting proposals for full IWVTA covering all necessary UN Regulations. The group operates under WP.29 supervision, is open to 1958 Agreement Contracting Parties and NGOs, and makes decisions by consensus.

The 50th IWVTA IWG session discussed strategies to increase IWVTA awareness and use, including harmonizing U-IWVTA with Japan’s Type Designation System and holding a workshop on July 17. Members reviewed UN R0/09 series amendments, considered revisions to General Guidelines on Transitional Provisions to prevent contradictions between series, and proposed a mechanism to identify compliance levels of UN type-approvals in DETA. The group will submit amended proposals to WP.29 in June and review updated Terms of Reference.

Updated revision with additional comments from OICA.

Explanation of WLTP UN Regulation levels, application, and notices prepared by the IWVTA ambassador to GRPE.

Proposal from the UNECE secretariat.

Q21 How to fill in the communication form in the case new approval number in accordance with Revision 3 of the 1958 Agreement if in the Communication form of the UN Regulations the “Approval number” and “Extension number” is still separated?

Document WP.29/343 is the “Status of the 1958 Agreement” which provides the current listing of UN Regulations, Contracting Parties applying each regulation, technical services authorized to conduct testing under each regulation, and so on. Revision 3 of the 1958 Agreement and UN R0 on International Whole Vehicle Type Approvals change the status document because Contracting Parties may accept earlier versions of UN Regulations and IWVTA approvals may be partial or universal based upon acceptance of specific regulations and/or versions. This submission from the WP.29 Secretariat provides guidance on how these changes will be reflected under the status document.

Proposal to allow for special type approval numbering schemes under individual UN Regulations as warranted, to allow up to six-digit sequential numbering in national approvals (from the current four), and to delete leading zeros in the numbering since Contracting Parties may use as leading digits, for example, the last two digits of a calendar year when a type approval was issued.

Proposal to clarify the scope requirements for a UN Regulation, to specify that national authorities may apply additional requirements provided they are not covered by one or more applicable UN Regulations, and to delete the clause allowing Contracting Parties to refuse to accept type approvals granted under a preceding series of amendments after the entry into force of the latest series of amendments to a UN Regulation.

Proposal to address type-approval numbering issues specific to tyres under the new version of the 1958 Agreement.

The light vehicle emissions GTR (WLTP) is being transposed into a UN Regulation. Given its complexity, the preferred approach is to draft a UN Regulation that would allow national/regional application with different stringency levels. The task force preparing the UN Regulation version of the GTR seeks IWVTA informal group input to understand issues that may impact the application of the light vehicle emissions regulation to whole vehicle type approvals.

Proposal to address Supplements to UN Regulations that were recently adopted under Revision 2 to the 1958 Agreement, but that will enter into force under Revision 3 to the Agreement. At issue is a difference between the two Revisions with regard to extensions of type approvals. Under Revision 2, Supplements adopted after the date of a first type approval do not apply to extensions of the approval unless specifically required by the Supplement. Under Revision 3, all Supplements apply to extensions of approvals unless the Supplement specifically exempts such extensions from its requirements. Now that Revision 3 has entered into force, OICA seeks to clarify that recent Supplements adopted under Revision 2 will be subject to Revision 2 even though they will enter into force in the coming months.

OICA perspectives for addressing cases of technologies voluntarily installed on vehicles by manufacturers that subsequently become subject to mandatory installation. In particular, the presentation addresses cases where a UN Regulation addresses technologies that are optional in some markets, but mandatory in others. For example, UN R116 includes both vehicle alarms and vehicle immobilizers. Alarms are presently optional across parties to the 1958 Agreement, but some parties require immobilizers. This divergence creates confusion over the validity of UN R116 approvals across all parties to the Agreement.

OICA proposal to clarify that the numbering of type approvals for “conventional” UN Regulations does not apply to the proposed UN Regulation No. 0 on international whole vehicle type approval. A separate paragraph would deal with the interpolation of IWVTA approval codes into type approval codes.