THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ( 1 ),

In cooperation with the European Parliament ( 2 ),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee ( 3 ),

Whereas it is important to adopt measures with the aim of progressively establishing the internal market over a period expiring on 31 December 1992; whereas the internal market comprises an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured;

Whereas the total-harmonization method will be essential in order fully to achieve the single market;

Whereas this method will to be used at the time of the revision of the entire EEC type-approval procedure, taking account of the spirit of the Council resolution of 7 May 1985 concerning a new approach to the question of technical harmonization and standardization;

Whereas the technical requirements which motor vehicles must satisfy pursuant to national laws relate, inter alia, to their masses and dimensions;

Whereas those requirements differ from one Member State to another; whereas it is therefore necessary that all Member States adopt the same requirements, either in addition to or in place of their existing rules in order to allow, in particular, the EEC type-approval procedure which was the subject of Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers ( 4 ), as last amended by Directive 87/403/EEC ( 5 ), to be applied in respect of each type of vehicle;

Whereas this Directive will be supplemented by Directives relating to the masses and dimensions of all categories of motor vehicles and their trailers;

Whereas it is not necessary to lay down requirements concerning the dynamic stability of combinations of motor vehicles and trailers since the manufacturers of motor vehicles take this aspect into account when stating the maximum technically permissible towable mass,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

1.1. The application for EEC type-approval pursuant to Article 3 (4) of Directive 70/156/EEC of a vehicle type of category M1 with regard to its masses and dimensions must be submitted by the manufacturer.

1.2. A model for the information document is given in Appendix 1.

1.3. The following must be submitted to the technical service responsible for conducting the type-approval tests:

2.1. If the relevant requirements are satisfied, EEC type-approval pursuant to Article 4 (3) of Directive 70/156/EEC shall be granted.

2.2. A model for the EEC type-approval certificate is given in Appendix 2.

2.3. An approval number in accordance with Annex VII to Directive 70/156/EEC shall be assigned to each type of vehicle approved. The same Member State shall not assign the same number to another type of vehicle.

3.1. In the case of modifications of the type approved pursuant to this Directive, the provisions of Article 5 of Directive 70/156/EEC shall apply.

4.1. As a general rule, measures to ensure the conformity of production shall be taken in accordance with the provisions laid down in Article 10 of Directive 70/156/EEC.

2.1. The pertinent definitions as laid down in Annex I (including the footnotes) and in Annex II to Directive 70/156/EEC apply also to this Directive.

2.2. ‘Mass of the conventional load’ means a mass of 75 kg multiplied by the number of passenger seating positions (including folding (tip-up) seats) designated by the manufacturer.

2.3. ‘Mass of the load in excess’ means the difference between the technically permissible maximum laden mass and the mass in running order increased by the mass of the conventional load. The mass of the load in excess may include the mass of optional equipment, e.g. sunroof, air conditioning, coupling device.

2.4. ‘Mass of the coupling device’ means the mass of the coupling itself and of its attachment hardware as specified by the vehicle manufacturer.

2.5. ‘Maximum static vertical load on the coupling point’ of the vehicle means the technically permissible vertical load transmitted, when the vehicle is stationary, by the drawbar of the trailer to the vehicle coupling and acting via the centre of the coupling device. This load must be specified by the manufacturer.

2.6. ‘Towable mass’ means the mass of the trailer towed excluding the vertical load on the coupling point of the towing vehicle.

2.7. ‘Folding (tip-up) seat’ means an auxiliary seat intended for occasional use and which is normally folded out of the way.

— the masses and axle loads of the empty vehicle (column (a)) correspond to those declared by the manufacturer, with a tolerance of ± 5 %; (in this case, the value of the mass stated by the manufacturer is adopted for calculating the masses in columns (b) and (c)),

— the masses and axle loads verified under the conditions referred to in columns (b) and (c) do not exceed the maximum permissible masses stated by the manufacturer,

— the requirements set out in item 3.2.1, fourth paragraph, of Annex II are fulfilled,

— the masses and axle loads stated by the manufacturer are compatible with the load characteristics of the types specified for the motor vehicle considering any declared vehicle speed limitations for the towing vehicle as per item 3.7.3 of Annex IV to Directive 92/23/EEC.