KEY NEWS 1/4 — EU
Roadworthiness package
It has been published a legislative briefing from the European Parliament Research Service on the European Union's Roadworthiness Package (RWP).
The last update of this package was in 2014 and aims to ensure that vehicle owners maintain minimum standards to guarantee road safety and adequate environmental performance of vehicles in the EU.
The problem identified during the evaluation of the 2014 RWP concluded that:
- Unsafe and polluting vehicles continue to circulate.
- The package has not been fully effective in achieving its objectives.
- Periodic technical inspections and roadside inspections do not identify all defective vehicles.
- Air pollutants and noise emissions are not sufficiently detected.
- Enforcement of rules in cross-border situations is ineffective.
- In December 2025 the Council adopted a position on the roadworthiness package. The package puts forward a comprehensive update of EU standards with regards to road safety inspections of vehicles and rules with regards to their registration.
The package consists of two proposals focusing on the update of three directives: one on the periodic roadworthiness testing for motor vehicles, one on roadside inspections of commercial vehicles and one on registration documents for vehicles.
- Proposal 2025/0096(COD): On vehicle registration documents
(replaces Directive 1999/37/EC).
The proposal on the registration documents for vehicles and vehicle registration data lays down common rules on:
- the vehicle registration documents issued by the Member States;
- certain data to be recorded in national vehicle registers;
- the exchange of such data between Member States
This Directive shall not apply to documents for the temporary registration of vehicles, unless such documents meet the requirements of this Directive, in which case, they shall be mutually recognised by Member States
- Proposal 2025/0097(COD): Amends two directives:
- Directive 2014/45/EU on periodic technical inspections (PTI).
- Directive 2014/47/EU on roadside technical inspections (RSI).
- Directive 2014/45/EU on periodic technical inspections (PTI).
Both proposals have the objective to further improve road safety in the EU by:
- Ensuring the consistency, objectivity and quality of roadworthiness testing
- The deployment of new test methods for gaseous emissions namely nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particle number
- Reducing tampering and improving the detection of defective vehicles, as well as tampered odometers
- Improving the electronic storage and exchanging relevant vehicle identification and status data, to increase data availability and facilitate mutual recognition by enforcement authorities.
KEY NEWS 2/4 — SOUTH KOREA
Amendment to Motor Vehicle Control Act on information related to Electric Vehicles batteries
The Motor Vehicle Control Act for the type approval in South Korea has been amended.
The main purpose of this modification is to guarantee that consumers are aware of all information regarding the batteries of Electric Vehicles.
Then, manufacturers shall provide customers all the requested information in relation with batteries when Electric Vehicle are sold.
This amendment will enter into force on 3 June 2026.
KEY NEWS 3/4 — CHINA
GB 48001-2026: Safety Technical Requirements for Automotive Door Handles
China has issued GB 48001-2026, a national standard published in January 2026 that establishes mandatory technical requirements for automotive door handles. The regulation applies to M1 category vehicles (passenger cars) and N1 category vehicles (light goods vehicles).
The standard's core requirement prohibits reliance on purely electronic door handle systems. Every vehicle door, excluding back doors, must be equipped with mechanically-unlatched outer and inner door handles that operate independently of the vehicle's electrical system.
The regulation specifically addresses three emergency scenarios:
- Situations following airbag deployment in collisions
- Thermal runaway events in traction batteries
- Complete battery disconnection. In all these cases, doors must be openable without tools, even when locking devices are engaged.
From January 1, 2027, new vehicle types must comply with most requirements, excluding hand-operation clearance specifications. From February 1, 2028, new types must meet all requirements including hand-operation clearance. Existing vehicle types already approved must achieve full compliance by February 1, 2029.
The regulation represents a significant shift for manufacturers who have adopted flush-mounted electronic door handles, particularly in premium and electric vehicle segments. These systems will require redesign to incorporate the mandated mechanical redundancy while maintaining specified clearances and positioning requirements.
KEY NEWS 4/4 — UK
Open consultation on mandating vehicle safety technologies to be adopted by the GB type approval
The Department of Transport of the United Kingdom has published on open consultation procedure regarding the adoption of different safety technologies for the GB type approval.
This consultation invites feedback on the proposed requirement for manufacturers applying for GB type approval of vehicles manufactured in unlimited quantities to install a range of safety technologies.
These modifications are essential to:
- Improve vehicle safety, decrease the frequency of road accidents and enhance injury outcomes on GB roads.
- Achieve greater harmonization of safety standards throughout the UK (between GB and Northern Ireland), preventing variations in vehicle specifications and the resulting cost impacts for UK consumers.
- Reduce barriers to trade by aligning technical requirements for safety features with those of the European Union (EU) and the wider international marketplace.
- Support UK economic growth by strengthening the automotive sector, lowering the economic burden of road accidents and fostering continued innovation among UK automotive companies.
The safety technologies under consideration in this public consultation are technologies that are already mandated for vehicles in Europe according with the New General Safety Regulation (GRS II) - R(EU) 2019/2144.
The public consultation ends on 31 March 2026.
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