Type Approval

The European Union has once again reformed the European type approval with the new framework Regulation (EU) No. 2018/858, which took effect on 1 September 2020. Central to the new regulation are further European harmonisation of type testing and the expansion of market surveillance. Once they have been EU type approved, caravans and motor caravans can be registered within the EU without undergoing further tests. In 2020, more than 40 per cent of caravans and motor caravans produced in Germany were purchased by customers abroad. This is why the German manufacturers have been using the EC type approval since 1999. As so-called “special purpose vehicles”, motor caravans and caravans are partially subject to different regulations from cars and trailers. For example, motor caravans are in the M₁ category (passenger transport for eight persons plus a driver), like passenger cars, but are exempt from certain regulations due to their special purpose. The living area layout with its equipment features such as kitchen, table, storage compartment and sleeping area that are not typical of motor vehicles makes it impossible to use car regulations across the board. In contrast to cars, the emphasis in motor caravans is on living, rather than on driving. Motor caravans are “houses on wheels”. In order to be able to reach the necessary vehicle masses, motor caravans are usually constructed on a commercial vehicle chassis, meaning that the use of car M₁ regulations such as the ones pertaining to emissions and crash tests is either impossible or only possible with modifications.