UN MAY ADOPT JAPANESE ELECTRIC VEHICLE RULES
Japanese safety standards for hybrid and electric vehicles may become the global standard, with the UN World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations likely to adopt them when it meets in Geneva in March, according to the Green Car Congress.
The meeting, the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, is intended to create global safety standards for hybrid and electric vehicles, as part of a revision of an international agreement.
The revised agreement is expected to be made official at the March meeting, and will take effect by the end of the year.
The report said that there are currently no global safety standards for hybrid and electric vehicles, and that Japan has been promoting its domestic standards since negotiations began at the forum in 2008. Japan was one of the early adopters of hybrid and electric vehicle safety rules.
According to the report, Japan is also pushing for global acceptance of its fuel cell vehicle safety rules, and for its method of measuring passenger car fuel economy as the international benchmark.
