COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION Accompanying the Impact Assessment report of the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2014/45/EU on periodic roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers, Directive 2014/47/EU on the technical roadside inspection of the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles circulating in the Union, and Directive 1999/37/EC on the registration documents for vehicles

EN EN
EUROPEAN
COMMISSION
Brussels, 26.5.2025
SWD(2025) 99 final/2
CORRIGENDUM
This document replaces SWD(2025) 99 final of 24.4.2025
Insertion of the cross-reference to the COM(2025) 180 final and correction of the title
Concerns the English language version only
The text shall read as follows:
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION
Accompanying the documents
Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending
Directive 2014/45/EU on periodic roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their
trailers, and amending Directive 2014/47/EU on the technical roadside inspection of the
roadworthiness of commercial vehicles circulating in the Union
Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the
registration documents for vehicles and vehicle registration data recorded in national
vehicle registers, and repealing Council Directive 1999/37/EC
{COM(2025) 179 final} - {COM(2025) 180 final} - {SEC(2025) 119 final} -
{SWD(2025) 96 final} - {SWD(2025) 97 final} - {SWD(2025) 98 final}
Offentligt
KOM (2025) 0180 - SWD-dokument
Europaudvalget 2025
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To address the safety- and health-related defects of vehicles, roadworthiness testing has been in
place in Europe for decades and subject to gradual harmonisation in the Union, with the first set of
common rules adopted in 19761
and last revised in 2014 as part of the Roadworthiness Package
(RWP). The package consists of three Directives:
• Directive 2014/45/EU2 on periodic roadworthiness tests (hereinafter the "Periodic
Technical Inspection or PTI Directive") requires that road transport vehicles are
periodically tested to ensure compliance with a set of minimum requirements, and it
applies to all cars, vans, trucks and buses, heavy trailers, faster tractors as well as,
since January 2022, to larger two- and three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles.
• Directive 2014/47/EU3 on technical roadside inspections (hereinafter the “Technical
Roadside Inspection or RSI Directive) complements the PTI Directive, in relation to
roadside inspections of heavy passenger and freight vehicles and their trailers.
• Directive 2014/46/EU4 on the registration documents for vehicles (hereinafter the
"Vehicle Registration Documents or VRD Directive") provides for the electronic
recording of data on all vehicles registered on a Member State’s territory, and
harmonised procedures in relation to the suspension of a vehicle’s registration.
Main findings
Effectiveness: Regarding roadworthiness emission checks, the effectiveness of the RWP is
limited as the current test requirements under PTI and RSI are not suited to testing the
functioning of recent emission control systems and must therefore be updated. Opacity
testing measurement is outdated as it cannot detect diesel vehicles with defective particle
filters or a tampered catalyst, which lead to high particle and NOx emissions. Instead, PN and
NOx measurement should be used to verify newer diesel and petrol vehicles to detect defects
and tampering with emission control systems.
Regarding improvement of the exchange of information on vehicle data between Member
States, the current framework for information exchange has not been effective. Although the
legislation mentions electronic data exchanges between Member States authorities as a
possibility, not all countries use this. Even if the harmonisation of vehicle registration
documents made it easier for citizens to register vehicles from other Member States and EEA,
there is significant room for improvement, notably through digitalisation. Re-registration can
still be a cumbersome process and the RWP currently prevents the mutual recognition of PTIs
between Member States, which represents administrative burden and a barrier to free
movement.
Efficiency: Digitalisation can help in streamlining the vehicle re-registration process: the
RWP should use the benefits of digital data exchange and further harmonisation of vehicle
documents to reduce the administrative burden and costs associated with the process. Also,
digital (mobile) vehicle registration documents could further facilitate the digitalisation of the
vehicle registration and data-keeping processes and reduce costs.
1
Council Directive 77/143/EEC of 29 December 1976 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States
relating to roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers, OJ L 47, 18.2.1977, p. 47–51
2
It repeals Directive 2009/40/EC; EUR-Lex - 32014L0045 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu)
3
It repeals Directive 2000/30/EC; EUR-Lex - 32014L0047 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu)
4
It amends Directive 1999/37/EC; EUR-Lex - 32014L0046 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu)
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Relevance: The RWP is not adapted to the latest technologies such as advanced driver
assistance systems (e.g. ADAS) and electronic safety features, for which the RWP currently
does not provide a sufficiently comprehensive framework. It does not contain specific testing
protocols which would ensure the compliance and maintenance of electric and hybrid
vehicles, including their software updates. Technical inspections would have to be updated
for the efficient acquisition of important safety-related data and the monitoring of new
sensors and functions. Regarding emissions, some of the PTI tests and equipment must be
adapted as they are no longer capable of detecting emission failures in the most recent
internal combustion engine vehicles.
Coherence: More consistency should be ensured between the type-approval regulation and
the RWP. The coherence between the RWP and relevant EU instruments could be improved
through the standardisation of safety-relevant vehicle data and the related responsibilities for
manufacturers during the vehicle’s lifecycle. Defining responsibilities more clearly and
mandating that relevant information is made available for PTIs across Member States could
reduce uncertainty and time spent on searching for the relevant information, thus improving
the overall accuracy and efficiency of inspections. The RWP should be also better aligned
with the General Safety Regulation5
.
EU added value: The RWP sets a minimum standard for all Member States and provides a
basic framework for detecting vehicle defects affecting roadworthiness, ensuring that all
Member States take action to improve road safety. Further harmonisation of the minimum
PTI and RSI requirements would be useful to improve consistency of legislation, standards
and practices within the EU. There is scope to improve mutual recognition of PTIs between
the Member States, which would add value to the EU internal market, while it would also
help to increase vehicle safety and environmental protection.
The evaluation concluded that the RWP was only partially successful in achieving its
objectives of contributing to increased road safety and helping reducing air pollutant
emissions from road transport. Defective vehicles may still not always be detected, as some
categories of vehicles are not subject to PTI or RSI in some Member States, or the frequency
or scope of the testing is not adapted to their higher safety and environmental risk. The
identified weaknesses in the current RWP require the Directives to be adapted, to address not
only current needs but also future challenges, such as the testing of advanced driver
assistance and automated systems.
5
Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on type-
approval requirements for motor vehicles and their trailers, and systems, components and separate technical
units intended for such vehicles, as regards their general safety and the protection of vehicle occupants and
vulnerable road users, amending Regulation (EU) 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council,
http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/2144/oj