£10million: Estimated savings
Collaboration between government and the industry sector has identified significant potential annual savings across the UK bodybuilding and conversion industry, estimated at more than £10million.
The savings arise as a result of a new, streamlined Type Approval process with a mass reduction in the complexity of approving vehicles for use.
The new process has been developed jointly by the Department for Transport (DfT) and The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Mike Hawes, Chief Executive at SMMT, said: “The new Type Approval process, designed by SMMT’s technical experts, could save the vehicle conversion and bodybuilding industry more than £10 million a year.
“By streamlining the hugely complicated and fragmented approval process, bureaucracy can be cut significantly, easing the pressure on over-stretched IVA centres.”
More than 55,000 multi-stage-built commercial vehicles are registered in the UK every year and each could now be approved through the alternative National Small Series Type Approval process.
The new system enables vehicles of the same category and number of axles to be approved under one type, reducing the current 60+ possible heavy commercial vehicle types that currently exist to just four.
Under present requirements, a bodybuilder has to create a new ‘type’ for each different base chassis used; therefore, bodybuilder’s could be required to have more than 60 different approvals – a major financial and administrative burden.
SMMT is working with ministers, government departments and agencies to ease the approval traffic jam at IVA centres, so removing the need for hundreds of UK bodybuilders to obtain an IVA can only ease the pressure on agencies and businesses.
