News

New EU type-approval regime for non-road mobile machinery

14.01.2025

Self-propelled mobile machinery designed or constructed with the purpose to perform work must occasionally or regularly be moved on public roads, for example, to travel from one place of use to another. However, this machinery is not primarily designed for road transport, but for specific work tasks such as those performed on construction sites.

As such, they have not yet been subject to the EU type-approval regime, which is tailored to vehicles intended for use on public roads, in particular in accordance with the framework regulation for type-approval (EU) 2018/858 for vehicles in categories M and N. Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 only stipulates a type-approval requirement and, specifically, emission limits for one of its components, namely internal combustion engines. However, it does not include any specific requirements for the road safety of such machinery. Similarly, other regulations that are limited in scope such as Directive 2000/14/EC or, more generally, EU machinery law (currently in the form of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC and, in the future, the Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/123) also lack specific provisions addressing road safety for this machinery.

Against this background, road safety requirements for such machinery have so far largely been subject to the national laws of the EU Member States. To standardise the requirements for such machinery and to minimise risks in road traffic, Regulation (EU) 2025/14 was adopted at the end of 2024 and published in the Official Journal on 7 January 2025.

In its approach and structure, the Regulation follows the established EU type-approval regime (in particular Regulations (EU) 2018/858, 167/2013 and 168/2013). In the future, vehicles and machinery may only be placed on the market in the EU if they have EU type-approval. The granting of type-approval requires compliance with specific regulations focussing on road safety.

The following provides an overview of the scope, content and effective date of the new Regulation:

Scope of the Regulation

In principle, the Regulation applies to mobile machinery that is not primarily intended for road traffic but is used occasionally or regularly on public roads, with or without a driver. It covers vehicles with a speed range of 6 to 40 km/h and vehicles with fewer than three seats. An exemption clause, which is likely to cause some interpretation difficulties, excludes machinery primarily intended for the transport of one or more persons, animals or goods from the scope of application. However, through a reverse exemption, the transport of certain instruments and materials is brought back within the scope, particularly materials transported on construction sites. This will include traditional construction machinery, but also leave some questions unanswered, such as the applicability of the Regulation to forklift trucks.

For some specific categories of machinery, manufacturers have the option of applying for EU type-approval or EU individual approval or complying with the relevant national provisions. These categories include, for example, machinery produced in small quantities and prototypes.

Towed machinery does not fall within the scope of the Regulation, but may be covered by Regulation (EU) 2018/858 (as category O).

Requirements for machinery and type-approval procedures under the new Regulation

The Regulation establishes technical requirements for all new non-road mobile machinery. However, the specific material requirements will first have to be further defined by the EU Commission through delegated legislation. As is common in many recent product-related legislative instruments, Article 16(2) grants the Commission the power to regulate a wide range of technical specifications, such as maximum design speed, braking devices, steering, etc. At present, the Regulation only contains the general requirement that the machinery must be designed “so as to minimise the risk of injury to the occupants and to other persons and the risk of damage to road infrastructure, in the machinery’s surrounding area” (Article 16(1)).

The type-approval procedure largely corresponds to the familiar EU type-approval regime: to obtain type-approval, a manufacturer or its authorised representative must submit an application for type-approval, including an information folder, to the relevant approval authority. Based on this submission, national type-approval authorities issue type-approvals. It is interesting to note that components and separate technical units that have been type-approved under Regulation (EU) 2018/858 (for vehicles in categories M and N) or Regulation (EU) 167/2013 (for agricultural and forestry vehicles) are accepted if they are correctly installed and integrated into the mobile machinery and do not affect the conformity of that machinery with the applicable technical requirements.

Obligations for manufacturers, importers and distributors

The Regulation’s list of obligations also largely corresponds to the familiar EU type-approval regime. In particular, manufacturers, importers and distributors must ensure that the non-road mobile machinery they place on the market belong to an EU-approved type and are developed and manufactured accordingly, or have been granted an EU individual type-approval. As usual, the Regulation provides for graduated responsibilities: while manufacturers and importers must check carefully whether a machine actually complies with the requirements of the Regulation, the Regulation only obliges distributors to exercise “due care” and to check documentation and markings (Article 12). The “fictitious manufacturer” has also found its way into the new Regulation in Article 14.

Entry into force and start of application of the Regulation

The Regulation will enter into force on 28 January 2025 (Article 56(1)). However, its provisions will largely only come become applicable from 29 January 2028 (Article 56(4)); machinery placed on the market before this date is excluded from the scope of the Regulation (Article 2(2)(f)).

However, by way of derogation from this provision on the start of application, Member States may apply specific national type-approval legislation for vehicles placed on the market up to 29 January 2036. During this period, manufacturers may choose to apply for EU type-approval or EU individual approval or comply with the relevant national legislation.

Outlook

The new EU type-approval regime for non-road mobile machinery will pose significant challenges, particularly for manufacturers, but also for importers and distributors. At the same time, it will facilitate market access across the EU. However, the exact requirements for the machinery covered will remain somewhat vague until the EU Commission adopts delegated acts.

Although the start of applicability may still seem distant, relevant economic operators are already encouraged to take early action by evaluating the requirements of the new type-approval regime and monitoring the Commission’s efforts to shape its implementation. Beyond prohibiting the placement of non-compliant machinery on the market, violations of the Regulation will, as usual, be subject to fines. The regulation of penalties is left to Member States, which must ensure that penalties are effective, proportionate, and dissuasive (Article 53(1)). In Germany, based on the existing German Ordinance on the Prosecution of Infringements of EU Type-Approval Law (Verordnung über die Ahndung von Zuwiderhandlungen gegen EU-Typgenehmigungsvorschriften), which lays down specifically the fines for breaches of current EU type-approval law, penalties of up to EUR 500,000 per infringement can be expected under the new Regulation (see our report on this). It is worth noting that the German legislature has declared sentence 3 of section 30(2) of the German Administrative Offences Act (Ordnungswidrigkeitengesetz ‒ OWiG) to be applicable for some offences, which provides for a tenfold increase in the maximum fine.