The Road Vehicles (Type-Approval) (Amendment) Regulations 2025

Simulation tool licence

Manufacturers must get a licence to operate a simulation tool to determine CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of new vehicles. An application for a licence must be in the format outlined in Appendix 1 of Annex II and be accompanied by documents outlined in Article 6.

N.B. Licences can be extended by manufacturers to cover other vehicle types if the conditions in Article 8 are met.

Determining and declaring CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of new vehicles
Manufacturers must calculate the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of each new vehicle intended to be sold, registered or put into service in Great Britain.

This requirement does not apply to:

• zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles (ZE-HDVs);
• hybrid-electric heavy-duty vehicles (He-HDVs); or
• dual-fuel vehicles.

Manufacturers can only use a simulation tool for this purpose if they are in possession of an appropriate licence.

The following records must be kept by the manufacturer for at least 20 years.

• Records containing the results of any simulation performed.
• Certificates on CO2 emissions and the fuel consumption-related properties of the components, systems and separate technical units.

N.B. If any modifications or updates are made to a simulation tool, the vehicle manufacturer must follow the requirements outlined in Article 10. 

Certification 
Manufacturers can apply for certification of the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption-related properties of components, separate technical units or systems using the process outlined in Article 16.

N.B. Standard values are introduced in Article 13 to provide a cheaper alternative to certification. These values can be used instead of certified values that are determined via testing.

Verification Testing
Manufacturers must verify the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of a set number of vehicles, using the process established in Annex Xa. A test report for each vehicle tested must be sent to the Vehicle Certification Agency each year, and a copy of the reports kept by the manufacturer for at least 10 years.