INTERREGS KEEPS CONSTANT WATCH ON CHANGES TO WORLDWIDE VEHICLE REGULATIONS

For Immediate Release

INTERREGS KEEPS CONSTANT WATCH ON CHANGES TO WORLDWIDE VEHICLE REGULATIONS

FAREHAM, U.K. - InterRegs, a publisher of global governmental vehicle
regulations on safety, emissions and the environment for the automotive,
commercial vehicle, off-road construction equipment and non-road
manufacturing industries, keeps original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and
suppliers up-to-date on global regulatory changes that affect the design,
development and testing of their products.

Both vehicle legislation and regulations are of major importance to
automotive manufacturers and their suppliers. OEMs are now expecting their
supplier partners to take more responsibility, not just in making
components, but to design, test and develop them to comply with all
government regulations affecting their products. InterRegs is constantly
tracking, compiling, translating and publishing vehicle regulations from
around the world.

 Some of the major regulatory challenges facing the automotive industry
today include:  

*         Higher fuel-economy requirements for the U.S., Europe and Japan,

*         New accident avoidance systems regulations for the U.S.,

*         Global Technical Regulation on pedestrian protection, and

*         Global Technical Regulation for head restraints.

Both the U.S. and Europe have been steadily increasing fuel economy
requirements to force faster development of these technologies to reduce oil
imports and dependence on other countries. In the U.S., for example,
California has adopted new mileage standards for passenger cars of 43.7
miles per gallon (U.S.) and 26.9 mpg (U.S.) for light trucks to be met in
the year 2016.

 "The European Commission have stated their intention to impose a seemingly
impossible mileage target of 47 mpg (US) for gasoline-powered automobiles
and a 52.3 mpg (U.S.) goal for diesel vehicles by 2012," said Rebecca Rubio,
president and CEO of InterRegs.

European auto manufacturers signed voluntary agreements with the European
Union (EU) 10 years ago to meet tougher fuel economy requirements. These new
EU benchmarks are considerably more stringent than the Corporate Average
Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards in the U.S. The new fuel economy requirements
will cascade down from the car companies to their suppliers, who also will
play a significant role in meeting these requirements. 

U.S. regulation Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) 126 is the
newest step in accident avoidance and it has high expectations of reducing
rollover and single vehicle crashes. FMVSS 126 will require all vehicles
under 10,000 lbs. to be equipped with electronic stability control (ESC)
systems.                                                 

Based on studies and data, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) estimates that once all light vehicles on the road
have ESC systems installed, single vehicle crashes will be reduced by 34
percent for passenger cars and 59 percent for sport utility vehicles. NHTSA
also predicts that ESC will save 5,300 to 9,000 lives and prevent 156,000 to
238,000 injuries in all types of crashes annually.

Meanwhile, regulatory requirements in Europe and Japan to reduce pedestrian
injuries caused by vehicle accidents are having a large impact on exterior
design. New regulations are changing the way vehicle front-ends are designed
and engineered.

  "Currently the U.S. does not impose regulations on pedestrian protection,
unlike Europe and Japan," the InterRegs executive noted.  "The U.S.,
however, is actively participating in negotiations to establish a Global
Technical Regulation (GTR) on this issue to harmonize requirements
worldwide. If international guidelines can be agreed upon, and that's a big
'if,' it should be much easier for automakers and their suppliers to design,
manufacture and sell their products around the world."

Technical requirements for head restraints systems are another hot topic.
"Now that safety regulations have significantly reduced traffic fatalities,
governments are looking for ways to cut down injuries," Rubio pointed out.
"Whiplash injuries are of major concern because of the frequency of
occurrence, personal suffering, health care costs and lost productivity." 

European and North American head-restraint regulations originally were
drafted three decades ago. The U.S. NHTSA recently updated its regulations.
These are being used as a basis for the proposed GTR, which would update and
harmonize head restraint system requirements worldwide.

UK-based InterRegs is the auto industry's primary independent source for
regulatory information in more than 40 major automotive markets around the
world. Established in 1963, InterRegs originally assembled its data in
loose-leaf binders, and then moved to compact disks in the 1990s. In recent
months, the company launched an Internet service and expanded its coverage
to China.

Headquartered in Hampshire, United Kingdom, InterRegs is a global publisher
of regulatory information for the automotive, off-road construction
equipment and non-road engine manufacturing industries.  InterRegs is the
preferred supplier of governmental regulations for companies such as
Aggreko, Ford, General Motors, Hitachi, John Deere, MagnaDonnelly,
Pininfarina, Ricardo, Robert Bosch, Toyota, Valeo Sylvania and hundreds of
others.  With vehicle regulations covering more than 50 countries and
subjects worldwide, InterRegs provides accurate and up-to-date regulatory
information required for vehicle design, engineering and certification.
More information is available at www.interregs.com
<http://www.interregs.com/> .


# # #

Company Contact

Shirley Thornber

InterRegs

Phone: +44 1329 820450

E-mail:   sthornber@interregs.com

 

Media Contact

Larry Weis or Jen Howell

AutoCom Associates

Phone: +1.248.647.8621

E-mail:   lweis@usautocom.com or
 jhowell@usautocom.com               

 

12.july.07

 

 

Andrea Wilmes
Account Assistant
AutoCom Associates, Inc. Public Relations
74 West Long Lake Road, Suite 103
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 United States
248-647-8621 (office)
awilmes@usautocom.com
www.usautocom.com http://www.usautocom.com>