RDW and Others (Registration certificates issued for vehicles - Opinion)

(Request for a preliminary ruling from the Raad van State (Council of State, the Netherlands))

(Directive 1999/37/EC — Registration certificates issued for vehicles first registered before implementation of the directive — Material inaccuracies and omissions in registration certificates — Mutual recognition — Directive 2007/46/EC — Approval of technical characteristics of vehicles — Vehicles predating EU harmonisation of technical requirements — Modifications having an impact on the technical characteristics of the vehicle)

In 1908, Henry Ford revolutionised the world economy by moving away from the individual assembly of cars, custom built for the client, towards mass production of standard models along an assembly line. The economies of scale and streamlining of the manufacturing process drastically reduced the production costs of his famous Model T, thereby turning the car, at that time a luxury product, into a commodity.

Such standardisation also allows for simplified regulatory oversight. In order to ensure road safety and to protect the environment, Member States require vehicles to meet minimum technical requirements. Due to the uniform characteristics of standardised vehicles, it suffices to test the technical characteristics of one model of each type to ascertain that all vehicles conforming to that type meet the technical requirements (‘type-approval’). In the European Union, that regulatory approval is granted by reference to technical requirements, harmonised by the EU legislature.

The standardisation of vehicles also facilitates free movement of those vehicles within the European Union. As long as a vehicle conforms to the EU approved type, there is no need to call into question the compliance with the technical requirements upon re-registration in another Member State. In this case, the Court is invited to rule on whether that also holds true where a vehicle does not conform to an EU approved type.