Feature: Automotive
Automotive radio equipment
compliance By Craig Ormerod, Senior Manager, TÜV SÜD
T
he wireless world is having a significant impact on the automotive supply chain. As levels of connectivity increase and the automotive industry introduces ever
more complex and convergent technologies, so the compliance process can appear increasingly intricate and unpredictable. Economic operators associated with
the automotive industry – vehicle and radio equipment manufacturers, importers, integrators of radio equipment and distributors – must comply with the European Union’s (EU) Radio Equipment Directive (RED) 2014/53/EU and ensure they have implemented their responsibilities accordingly. Te RED is applicable to all electrical and electronic devices that intentionally emit and receive radio waves at frequencies below 3000GHz. Following Brexit, in the UK the RED
has been replaced by Radio Equipment Regulations 2017. However, since EU directives are already transposed into national law, the UK already has a legal
24 April 2022
www.electronicsworld.co.uk
system in place that applies. Tis means that, for the foreseeable future, the requirements of the UK regulation will remain the same as those of the EU’s RED, so throughout this article we will refer to the RED.
Type approval Vehicle type approval is the confirmation that production samples of a type of vehicle, vehicle system, component or separate technical unit will meet specified performance standards. Te obligations of the various economic operators depend on whether the host vehicle is type-approved for use on the public highways; those vehicles must be type approved before they can be registered and used. Tere are various European legislations presently in force covering such automotive type approvals, for example the Whole Vehicle Framework Directive 2007/46/EC, as amended by EU 2015/166. Type-approved vehicles include, for
example, cars, trucks, trailers and caravans, which in Europe fall under the ‘e marking’
EC/EU directives and regulations. Te other separate vehicle regulations for ‘e marking’ are the UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) regulations, which include Regulation 10 for EMC (electromagnetic compatibility). In the UK, the Vehicle Certification Agency is the designated UK type-approval authority for automotive products, and a designated technical service for type- approval testing in the UN scheme. Te application of the RED to vehicles is
partially addressed in the RED guide to the Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU (Section 1.6.3.10 radio equipment installed in vehicles), available from the European Commission Europa website. In the UK, the Radio Equipment Regulations 2017 are the UK’s equivalent to Directive 2014/53/ EU.
A radio product for use in a type-
approved vehicle needs to fully comply with the RED and all applicable European legislations for that radio, unless specifically falling within any exceptions to the RED. Tought should be given to the question
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