Whole Vehicle Type Approval will hit bodybuilding industry
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will.shiers@rbi.co.uk THE UK BODYBUILDING industry is on the verge of a massive cull following the introduction of Whole Vehicle Type Approval legislation.
“If there are 1,500 UK bodybuilders now, in 10 years’ time this total could be down to as little as 150,” warns Robin Dickeson, SMMT manager of commercial vehicle affairs.
In the past, only the chassis and cab had to meet Type Approval, but European Whole Vehicle Type Approval (which is being gradually phased in) now says the entire vehicle must be approved.
As a result, all bodybuilders will need to keep thorough records to show they have operated within the law. “This means that a firm has to say what it is going to do, then do what it says and, finally, prove it,” says Dickeson.
“And when type-approval legislation starts to bite, a bodybuilder will not be able to just send the office junior to the Post Office to buy a pack of Certificates of Conformity or a Whole Vehicle Type Approval Certificate. There will be a process of inspection and testing for each new model, all based on those quality standards.” While Dickeson says this is likely to prove too difficult for the UK’s smallest bodybuilders, he believes the legislation will prove beneficial to some companies, particularly well-organised, niche builders and a small number of big firms, which will expand and take a larger share of the market.
One company that expects to fall into this category is DAF, which builds a range of box and curtainside bodies on line at Leyland (pictured below). DAF marketing director Tony Pain says building the entire vehicle in one place makes it easier to comply.