Changes in EU regulations may impact on the popular Irish practice of converting small cars to vans. Currently, converting a car to a van doesn't require having the vehicle to be resubmitted for "type approval" - the regulations that set safety and specification standards for any car sold in the EU - because the EU rules for commercial vehicles are not as strict as they are for regular cars.
However, discussions are underway within the EU about imposing a stricter regime on commercial vehicles that could make local conversions unviable. Manufacturers who wish to sell what are commonly known as "car-derived vans" (CDVs) would have to build it as a complete model, and have it type-approved in the same way that they now have their cars approved.
If the regime for commercial vehicles becomes as strict as it is for cars, where any significant structural change requires a new approval, local conversion would effectively become impossible.
In Ireland, the only regulations about car-to-van conversions are fiscal-related, and imposed by the Revenue Commissioners. Because small CDVs attract a lower rate of Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) - 13.3 per cent compared to more than 20 per cent in the case of the complete car - the Revenue is anxious to ensure that anybody buying a van would not be able to easily reconvert the vehicle to a car.
The conversion rules here require that rear seat mountings and seatbelt anchorages be rendered permanently unusable, and that the seat-well and footwell behind the front seats are covered by a permanent floor, usually of sheet steel, which has to be welded or permanently bonded in place. In addition, the side windows behind the front seats must be covered in a permanent way by an opaque material.
However, the Revenue's requirements do not refer to any changes, which the work might impact on the engineering of the vehicle. There have been concerns that the process can impact on the safety of the vehicle. The introduction of Ford's new Fiesta van, for instance, was delayed from February to August this year because Ford Ireland was unhappy about the structural effect of some demands made by the Revenue. Ford Ireland imports a number of new Fiestas with the seat and window "options" deleted at the factory, and then completes the conversions here.
The discussions at EU level highlight the lack of engineering regulations governing such conversions here beyond the "in use requirements" of legislation that goes back to 1963, and a number of subsequent amendments.
The type approval standards for a car, on the other hand, are covered by a variety of EU directives and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UN).
"The fact is that, once a vehicle is registered, then type approval has no further significance, and the owner can modify the vehicle in any way they wish," a spokesperson for the Department of Transport says. "There may be modifications which are unacceptable, but we would expect to pick those up at periodic inspections."
A car importer can convert the car to a van without having to submit the vehicle for a new type approval certificate, because the commercial vehicle regime only requires that the van complies with noise and emissions approval standards. However, such conversions must be carried out with the approval of the original manufacturer, otherwise warranties would be affected.