Title: The urgent need for harmonization of international automobile regulations

Authors: C.H. Hahn

Addresses: Chairman at the Board of Management, Volkswagen AG., West Germany

Abstract: During the past three decades there has been a great expansion in international trade in motor vehicles. At the same time there has been a steady proliferation of national and EEC regulations, a trend which forces companies to produce variants for each national market. The author recommends that design standards should give way to performance standards which would allow for greater flexibility and creativity in development, and encourage innovation and technical progress. It is suggested that, in the interests of uniformity, the EEC should adopt the US regulations for exhaust emissions.

Keywords: automobile industry; international harmonisation; international regulations; legislation; automotive regulations; automotive standards.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.1986.061159

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 1986 Vol.7 No.5/6, pp.1 - 9

Published online: 25 May 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article