Whole Vehicle Type Approval

Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WVTA) applies to the manufacture, import and conversion to any Bus, Coach, Van, Truck, Trailer and some Other Special Purpose Vehicles.

If the vehicle you plan to build, import or convert falls into the approval net, they must be type approved before they can be first licensed.

Richard Piercy of Corporate Audit Solutions can give you details of the type approval system which operate in the UK and tell you what is involved in getting type approval for your company.

You are unlikely to be able to get type approval unless the vehicle is to be built from consenting parts suppliers or not having a suitable Quality Management System (QMS) like ISO9001:2008, or where the build details are not auditable or substantiated via various National Standards.

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What is Type Approval?

Type Approval is a way of making sure goods vehicles are safe to use on the road, without having to inspect and test every single one. Under the Type Approval system, a prototype is tested. If it passes the tests and the production arrangements also pass inspection, then vehicles or components of the same type are approved for production and sale, without further testing.

The goods vehicle scheme covers all goods vehicles, from lightweight vans up to 44 tonne trucks. There are also two types of system and component approval: national and international.

Who Needs It?

If you are planning to make, import or convert goods vehicles for sale, you must have Type Approval. Without it, vehicles cannot be licensed for use on the roads.