What is Homologation?

[Technocrat]

Hi guys found this interesting information so i thought would share with all.. read on

What is homologation?

Homologation is the process of certifying that a particular car is
roadworthy and matches certain specified criteria laid out by the government for all vehicles made or imported into that country. It is an acceptable practice worldwide. In India , this clearance is given by the Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) or the Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (VRDE), Ahmednagar and by the Central Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute, Budni, Madhya Pradesh for tractors. Essentially, the tests ensure that the vehicle matches the requirements of the Indian market in terms of emission and safety and road-worthiness as per the Central Motor Vehicle Rules.


Are only imported cars homologated?

All original models running in India have to be homologated. So, this
includes both, cars developed in India like the Tata Indica and cars imported as a completely built unit and sold here like the Ford Mondeo. This also includes any variants that the company may later introduce, which would affect emission or safety parameters. For instance, if the company introduces a new engine in an existing model, the engine would need to be homologated. However, ancillary manufacturers also validate their products so if the variant only uses a validated ancillary there is no need for fresh homologation of the entire vehicle.


But imported cars must have been homologated in their country of origin. Why do we need to homologate again?

The problem is that a car that is tuned to the fuel condition and road
conditions of a more developed market need not necessarily work in India . For instance, our fuel quality is so poor that manufacturers often need to tweak their engines to make them India-worthy. Also, each country has separate homologation laws and not all of them are relevant to India . So, according to the government notification after the '01 Exim Policy phased out quantitative restriction on new and used car imports, every original car model brought into the country by an individual or a manufacturer has to have a local homologation clearance. Once a model or a prototype is homologated, other similar cars don't need to be separately certified.


How much does homologation cost? And how long does it take for a model to get homologated?

Homologation normally costs around Rs 10 to Rs 15 lakh, depending on the number of tests necessary to ensure roadworthiness. Normally the process takes around three months, which is also the international average. However, there are instances of the process taking longer. For example, DaimlerChrysler's C220 went through a seven-month long homologation exercise.


Why is homologation such a controversial issue?

Homologation in India is expensive and time consuming because the authorised body often has to begin by buying the equipment required to test technology-rich cars. Also, the rush for certification means that the authorities sometimes don't have the capacity to handle the volumes. Multinational carmakers contend that since their cars are already homologated in the most developed auto marts of the world there is no sense in duplicating the effort in India . Base homologation as per European standards is accepted in most countries in addition to which manufacturers undergo another 15-20% country-specific homologation. In India, the laws insist on complete homologation which is an expensive proposition.


Why doesn't the ARAI accept the homologation certification by European, US or Japanese agencies?

Currently there is no reciprocal arrangement between ARAI and its European or American counterparts. Since they don't recognise the ARAI certification, ARAI doesn't recognise their certification either. However, worldwide there is a move towards greater reciprocity and a UN dialogue among some 120 countries recently was focused on harmonising standards. For India, the harmonised standards will come with '07, when our safety and emission norms will be at par with Europe . That's when reciprocity will also follow.


Does homologation destroy the vehicle during testing?

Right now the ARAI does not do destructive testing, which will only happen once it acquires the capabilities in '05.


What happens when the ARAI does not have the equipment to test a particular high-tech component?

The norm then, is to extract certain parameters from the certification in the country of origin, but it can lead to time lags.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...how/345125.cms

[shravan316]

Good find technocrat! I did learn quite a few things about this whole homologation thingy...

[z klasse]

There are basic rules for importing a car. One is it has to be RHD, second it should have speedo in KM/Hr. It should have assymetrical headlamps, for petrol it should be 3000cc above and diesel 2500cc above , seating capacity and should be imported only from country of manufacture. More than this the value of the car has to be 40,000USD and above. The duty is 104.25% and i think it is going to be reduced drastically in the coming months. The SLK 200 is under homologation right now.

[GTO]

Technocrat,

Very very informative, and I myself learnt a lot about the process from your article. The only point I would like to add is that homolgation is supposedly waived off from cars costing $40,000 and above in their home countries.

Thank you for sharing this with us.

GTO

[Deeps]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

[size=2]Does homologation destroy the vehicle during testing? [/size]

Right now the ARAI does not do destructive testing, which will only happen once it acquires the capabilities in '05.

So if one imports a car privately. What happens if it is needed to be crash tested??

[Technocrat]

that test is left for the owner