CIRCULAR 80 / 00

CIRCULAR 0 – 4 – 8

REGISTRATION AND USE OF EVALUATION VEHICLES

(Including their Importation)

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 This circular sets arrangements under which manufacturers and importers may register vehicle(s) for the purposes of evaluation. This circular applies to vehicle(s) that are to be used for evaluation purposes on public roads, including as applicable their importation.

1.2 These arrangements apply only to ‘full volume’ original manufacturers. ie. licensees holding an identification plate approval (IPA) under Section 10A (1) - ‘Approval for the Placement of Identification Plates’, of the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989 (the Act) without restriction on the volume of vehicles that can be supplied. These arrangements do not apply to Low Volume manufacturers or to the Registered Automotive Workshop Scheme.

1.3 The Applicant for pre-release-evaluation and/or market evaluation vehicles must be either the company that manufactured the vehicle in its original state, or related by ownership and under the control of the company that manufactured the vehicle’s original state, or the vehicle manufacturer’s nominated national representative in Australia.

1.4 The State and Territory Registering Authorities (STRA) have agreed on the arrangements for the registration of evaluation vehicles outlined in this circular. The STRA where the evaluation vehicle is to be registered must be contacted to ascertain its particular registration requirements.

1.5 Evaluation vehicles are categorised as pre-release-evaluation, market-evaluation or engineering-evaluation and separate conditions for registration for road use and disposal apply to each category. Only pre-release-evaluation vehicles may be supplied to the market in Australia and only if the Approval conditions have been met.

1.6 Vehicles imported under the arrangements provided by the visitor convention for the temporary importation of private road vehicles (carnet) must not be used as evaluation vehicles.

1.7 The number of vehicles registered of any make and model is to be restricted to a minimum number necessary for the evaluation program. In applying for registration, the manufacturer or importer will be required to declare the total number of vehicles proposed for registration in Australia for each evaluation programme and to specify the use to which each vehicle will be put within the programme.

2 DEFINITIONS

2.1 Terms shown in italics are defined within the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989, the Australian Design Rules for Motor Vehicles and Trailers – Third Edition, or this Circular.

3 PRE-RELEASE-EVALUATION VEHICLES

3.1 Application

3.1.1 A pre-release-evaluation vehicle is a new vehicle of a design for which applications to the Administrator of Vehicle Standards (the Administrator) for:-

Approval to Place an Identification Plate (referred to as a Compliance Plate Approval or CPA) has been made; or
an amendment to an existing CPA due to a production change and the applicant specifically requests approval as a pre-release-evaluation vehicle has been made; and
an Application for Pre-Release-Evaluation Vehicles under the provisions of Circular 0-4-8 as per Attachment 1 has been made to the Administrator.

3.1.2 An application to place Identification plates on pre-release-evaluation vehicles may be made for vehicles which have not been used in transport. The application must identify the Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) of the pre-release-evaluation vehicles. These vehicles must not be development prototypes or early engineering development vehicles but may be vehicles made during proof runs of production processes/tooling or from a running production change that is sufficient to require amendment to the existing ‘full volume’ CPA.

3.2 Approval

3.2.1 A pre-release-evaluation vehicle may be issued with a CPA under section 10A of the Act with additional pre-release-evaluation conditions where the Administrator is satisfied that a completed Road Vehicle Descriptor (RVD), summary of evidence (SE) and summary of fleet selection (SF) forms for all safety related Australian Design Rules(ADRs)(e.g. all except ADRs 79/…,80/…,81/...,82/... and 83/...) have been submitted via the Road Vehicle Certification System (RVCS) and the outstanding submissions are awaiting the completion of testing to confirm compliance with the relevant ADRs.

3.2.2 Pre-release-evaluation vehicle CPA is only available to vehicles in categories MA, MB, MC, MD, NA, NB or NC.

3.3 Conditions of Approval

3.3.1 The pre-release-evaluation vehicle conditions will include:-

· that the vehicle(s) when driven on public roads may only be driven by persons in the employ of, or contracted to, the holder of the CPA, or other persons under the supervision of such a person, or by a member of the motoring press when associated with a structured release program for that particular vehicle model. Vehicle dealers or members of the general public must not drive the vehicle unsupervised on public roads;

· that the identification of the vehicles to be covered by the CPA will be by their VINs;

· prohibition on the transfer of registration and/or sale of the vehicle until the vehicle conforms to the design contained in the final form of an application for a CPA issued by the Administrator;

· expiry within six (6) months of the date of issue; and

· conditions of disposal or export, including a requirement to remove and destroy any identification plates affixed to the vehicles if the vehicles do not conform to the design contained in the final form of an application for a CPA issued by the Administrator before the expiry date.

3.3.2 The vehicle’s VIN will be flagged on the national VINs register so as to prevent transfer of ownership while the pre-release-evaluation conditions are in place. This flag will be removed on request when the Administrator is satisfied that the vehicle(s) conform to the design contained in the final form of a CPA issued by the Administrator before the expiry date.

4 MARKET-EVALUATION VEHICLES

4.1 Application

4.1.1 A market-evaluation vehicle is a vehicle(s) that is to be used on public roads under conditional registration to assess its viability in the Australian market. The vehicle(s) cannot be supplied to the market in Australia for use in transport and will not be eligible for CPA under section 10A (1) of the Act. Market-evaluation vehicles must not be left-hand-drive and must comply with the technical requirements of all applicable safety-related ADRs or with corresponding national or international standards, and meet all STRA registration requirements. For imported market-evaluation vehicles, it is a requirement that an Application for Vehicle Import Approval under the provisions of Circular 0-4-8 as per Attachment 2 has been made to the Administrator.

4.1.2 A market-evaluation vehicle is not required to have an Identification Plate placed on it as a condition of registration.

4.1.3 The application for registration must be in the name of the vehicle manufacturer or the vehicle manufacturer’s nominated national representative in Australia and must declare the expected period for completion of the evaluation.

4.1.4 The STRA’s will require:-

a submission on the vehicle’s status of compliance with the ADRs and other requirements for registration and
after assessment of this submission, an inspection of the vehicle to verify the submission.

4.2 Registration

4.2.1 If the vehicle is consistent with the submission and the vehicle(s) meets the STRA’s registration requirements, it will be registered for the period necessary for the completion of the evaluation programme.

4.3 Conditions of Registration

4.3.1 The conditions of registration will include:-

· that the vehicle(s) when driven on public roads may only be driven by persons in the direct employ of, or contracted to, the applicant for the approval in the course of business, and that the vehicle(s) must not be driven on public roads by vehicle dealers, journalists, or members of the public;

· a prohibition on the transfer of registration or sale of the vehicle during the registration period; and

· that the vehicle is to be disposed of at the end of the period of registration either by export, destroying, or by means agreed to by the Administrator (eg. making the vehicle available to training providers) and that the vehicle must never be supplied to the market for use in transport in Australia.

5 ENGINEERING-EVALUATION VEHICLES

5.1 Application

5.1.1 An engineering-evaluation vehicle is a vehicle that is to be used on public roads under conditional registration in the evaluation and development of vehicle components and systems (e.g. climate testing, dust ingress testing, rough road testing, benchmark testing and transmission calibration). The vehicle(s) cannot be supplied to the market in Australia for use in transport.

NOTE: Left-hand-drive and dual-control vehicles may only be registered as engineering-evaluation vehicles.

For imported engineering-evaluation vehicles, it is a requirement that an Application for Vehicle Import Approval under the provisions of Circular 0-4-8 as per Attachment 2 has been made to the Administrator.

5.1.2 Engineering-evaluation vehicle(s) must comply with the objectives of all applicable safety related ADRs (excluding ADR 34/…, and excluding the steering control location requirements of ADR42/… in the case of left hand drive and dual control vehicles), and must meet all STRA registration requirements.

5.1.3 The application process in clauses 4.1.2 to 4.1.4 for market-evaluation vehicles also applies to engineering-evaluation vehicles. However, where the vehicle is to be used for the evaluation and development of components, the application may request that the vehicle be registered in the name of the component manufacturer or the component manufacturer’s nominated national representative in Australia.

5.2 Registration

5.2.1 Registration will be in accordance with clause 4.2 for market-evaluation vehicles

5.3 Conditions of Registration

5.3.1 The conditions of registration, in addition to those applicable to market-evaluation vehicles in clause 4.3.1 (second and third dot-point only) above, include:-

that the vehicle(s) when driven on public roads may only be driven by persons engaged directly or indirectly by the applicant to perform development work and who are in the direct employ of or contracted to, the manufacturer or the manufacturer’s nominated national representative in Australia or who are under the supervision of such a person (i.e. all personnel who drive the vehicle must be engaged in development work for the applicant); and
the fixing of a durable warning label fixed in a position that is clearly visible to the driver and which contains the following warning:-

“ WARNING: This vehicle is registered for ‘Engineering Evaluation’ purposes only. Use of this vehicle on public roads is strictly limited to the evaluation and development of vehicle components and systems. When this vehicle is used on public roads it is to be driven only by personnel involved in those evaluations.”

ATTACHMENT 1

Application to the Administrator for PRE – RELEASE – EVALUATION VEHICLES under the provisions of CIRCULAR 0 – 4 – 8

b PRE - RELEASE - EVALUATION VEHICLES (refer to clause 3)

1. Is vehicle(s) of a new vehicle type for which an application for Compliance Plate

Approval has been made ? YES / NO

2. Is vehicle of a type for which Compliance Plate Approval is already held, but is a

variant not yet certified, for which an application for amendment to the CPA has

been made ? YES / NO

Advise details of Compliance Plate Approval

Reference Number Make Model

CPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3. Have all safety related ADR evidence SE and SF submissions been made via YES (only answer)

RVCS, excepting ADRs 79/.., 80/.., 81/.., 82/.. and 83/.. ?

4. Are all outstanding ADR submissions awaiting the completion of testing to confirm YES (only answer)

compliance with the relevant ADRs ?

5. Has an Road Vehicle Descriptor (RVD) submission been made covering the YES (only answer)

Pre-Release-Evaluation Vehicle(s) ?

6. Will the vehicle(s),when driven on public roads, only be driven by persons in the direct

employ of, or contracted to, the holder of the CPA, or other persons under the supervision YES (only answer)

of such person, or by a member of the motoring press when associated with a structured

release program for that particular vehicle model ?

7. Will vehicle dealers or members of the general public drive the vehicle(s) unsupervised on NO (only answer)

Public roads ?

Go to 8

8. VEHICLE DETAILS

VIN Year Make Model

1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

If more than four vehicles are required, attach list of additional vehicles.

A pre-release-evaluation vehicle once added to the Compliance Plate Approval, if not Australian made, can be imported under the authority of the Blanket-Import-Approval held by the applicant.

Only Delegates, Agents or authorised Signatories registered on RVCS are able to sign this Application Form:-

……………………………………………………………. ………/……………………20 ..

SIGNATURE

……………………………………………………………..

NAME IN BLOCK LETTERS

ATTACHMENT 2

Application to the Administrator for VEHICLE IMPORT APPROVAL

under the provisions of CIRCULAR 0 – 4 – 8

Payment Details:

A fee of $50.00 must accompany this application. Cardholder’s Name…………………………………………..

Enclosed is a cheque/money order, OR

Cardholder’s Signature……………………………………...

Please debit my credit card:-

Bankcard MasterCard Visa Expiry Date……………. / ……………

Number

Applicant Company to whom Import Approval is to be issued: - (refer clause 1.3)

Licensee No.: L . . . . . . . .

Company Delegate Name or Signatory Name as recorded on Licensee Registration

Signatory No.: S . . . . . . .

Postal Address Contacts

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Telephone No.: . . . . - . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Facsimile No.: . . . . - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Email : @

BASIS for IMPORT APPLICATION - ( only one Basis per Import Application; Check box as required )

b MARKET - EVALUATION VEHICLES (refer to clause 4)

1. Is vehicle(s) required to be used on public roads under conditional registration ? YES / NO (If No, go to 12.)

2. Is vehicle(s) Left-Hand-Drive ? NO (only answer)

3. Will the vehicle(s) comply with all applicable safety-related ADRs, or with YES (only answer)

corresponding national or international standards ?

4. Will the vehicle(s) meet all the registration requirements of the STRA ? YES (only answer)

5. Will the vehicle(s), when driven on public roads, only be driven by persons YES (only answer)

in the direct employ of, or contracted to, the applicant?

6. Will the vehicle(s) be driven on public roads by vehicle dealers, journalists,

or members of the public? NO (only answer)

Go to 12

b ENGINEERING - EVALUATION VEHICLES (refer to clause 5)

7. Is vehicle(s) required to be used on public roads under conditional registration ? YES / NO (If No, go to 12.)

8. Will the vehicle(s) comply with the objectives of all applicable safety-related ADRs YES (only answer)

(excluding ADR34/.. ) ?

9. Will the vehicle(s) meet all the registration requirements of the STRA ? YES (only answer)

10. Will the vehicle(s), when driven on public roads, only be driven by persons engaged

directly or indirectly by the applicant to perform development work and who are in the YES (only answer)

direct employ of, or contracted to, the manufacturer or the manufacturer’s nominated

national representative in Australia, or who are under the supervision of such a person?

11. Will the vehicle(s) be driven on public roads by vehicle dealers, journalists or members NO (only answer)

of the public ?

Go to 12.

12. VEHICLE DETAILS