THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers ( 1 ), as last amended by Commission Directive 93/81/EEC ( 2 ), and in particular Article 13 (2) thereof,

Having regard to Council Directive 92/21/EEC of 31 March 1992 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the masses and dimensions of motor vehicles of category M1  ( 3 ), and in particular Article 3 thereof,

Whereas Directive 92/21/EEC is one of the separate Directives of the EEC type-approval procedure which has been established by Directive 70/156/EEC; whereas, consequently, the provision laid down in Directive 70/156/EEC relating to vehicle systems, components and separate technical units apply to this Directive;

Whereas reference is made to Council Directive 77/649/EEC ( 4 ), as last amended by Commission Directive 90/630/EEC ( 5 ), which contains the procedure for determining a reference point for seating positions in motor vehicles and, consequently, it is not necessary to repeat it in this Directive; whereas reference is also made to Council Directive 92/23/EEC ( 6 );

Whereas, in the light of experience gained so far with the practical application of Directive 92/21/EEC, it is necessary to specify more precisely certain provisions contained therein in order to ensure uniform interpretation in all Member States;

Whereas it will be necessary in the future to lay down special loading conditions for seats which are not designed for, or capable of, accommodating adult passengers; whereas, however, the definition of such seats and the specification of the loading conditions require further consideration; whereas, therefore, the corresponding amendments shall be postponed to a later date;

Whereas the provisions of this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Adaptation to Technical Progress established by Directive 70/156/EEC;

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

— refuse, in respect of a type of motor vehicle of category M1, to grant EEC type-approval or national type-approval, or

— prohibit the registration, sale or entry into service of such vehicles,

— shall no longer grant EEC type-approval, and

— may refuse to grant national type-approval,

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.