Rules & rights
Regulation and consumer rights by jurisdiction: type approval, tariffs and duties, connected-vehicle and data rules, emissions standards, recall obligations and warranty law.
October 22, 2026
FMVSS 1968–2019: NHTSA's own accounting of 50 years of US safety standards, and what that research says they prevented
A December 17, 2024 NHTSA press release reports the agency's research on the benefits and costs of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards from 1968 to 2019: more than 860,000 deaths prevented, 49 million nonfatal injuries, 65 million vehicles spared damage, and $17.3 trillion in comprehensive societal benefits in 2019 dollars, against roughly $1 trillion in total costs for the 52 years combined. The release names three underlying research reports covering passenger cars and light trucks and vans.
October 22, 2026
Volvo Cars to convert about USD 274 million of its Polestar loan into equity, and Polestar says it intends to consolidate Polestar 3 manufacturing in Charleston
A Polestar investor release dated 31 March 2026, Gothenburg, announces a debt-to-equity conversion of approximately USD 274 million of Volvo Cars' shareholder loan, a further approximately USD 65 million conversion expected later in the second quarter, an extension of the remaining approximately USD 661 million loan to December 2031, and an intention to consolidate future Polestar 3 manufacturing in Charleston, South Carolina.
October 17, 2026
UK number plates and private registrations: what DVLA's own GOV.UK pages require
A rules-and-rights explainer for UK drivers, drawn from DVLA's GOV.UK pages on displaying number plates, assigning a private number, and keeping or selling one: plate materials and markings, eligibility limits, the duty to fit new plates before driving, who to tell, renewal every 10 years, and the warning about sharing V750 or V778 scans.
October 16, 2026
The EU Batteries Regulation on paper: what Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 requires of EV batteries, and the dates that matter
A document-based reference on Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, the EU Batteries Regulation: its scope across five battery categories including EV and LMT batteries, its status and application dates, and the phased requirements — carbon-footprint declaration from 2025, recycling and recycled-content targets, the QR-code battery passport, and raw-materials due diligence — as published by the European Commission.
October 16, 2026
Stellantis's $13 billion US plan, plant by plant
A reference guide to Stellantis's announced four-year, $13 billion United States investment as set out in its own October 14, 2025 press release: five new vehicle launches, 19 product actions, the Belvidere reopening, plant assignments in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, and the conditions the company attached.
October 15, 2026
The final right to reject, the price reduction and the six-month deduction rule: what section 24 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says about faulty cars in the UK
When a car bought from a trader in the UK turns out not to conform to the contract, section 24 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets out two remaining statutory remedies: a price reduction or the final right to reject. This explainer walks through the statutory text as revised on legislation.gov.uk (current as of 14 October 2026): when the final right arises, how a refund can be cut by a deduction for use, and the carve-out that motor vehicles lose the no-deduction protection in the first six months.
October 14, 2026
EU End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation in force since 13 August 2026: the rules it sets and the dates that matter
The EU's End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation entered into force on 13 August 2026 and applies from 1 September 2028, replacing the 2000 ELV Directive and the 2005 3R type-approval Directive. The European Commission's pages set out recycled-content targets from 2032, Commission targets for steel and aluminum from 2033, scope extension to lorries, buses and motorcycles, electronic certificates of destruction, and roadworthiness checks on used-vehicle exports from mid-2031.
October 12, 2026
Bringing a car into the UK for good: the GOV.UK steps from HMRC notification to DVLA registration
Importing a car permanently into the United Kingdom follows a fixed sequence set out on GOV.UK: telling HM Revenue and Customs within 14 days, paying VAT and customs duty, getting vehicle approval, and registering with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for a £55 fee. This explainer walks through each stage as the government guidance describes it, including the 10-year age exemption, the £100 GB conversion IVA fee for left-hand drive cars, and the up-to-six-week wait for the V5C registration document.
October 11, 2026
Who may read your car's service data: the EU rules on repair and maintenance information
In the European Union, manufacturers of light-duty vehicles must give independent operators easy, restriction-free, standardised access to vehicle repair and maintenance information, and discrimination against independent repairers relative to authorised dealers is not allowed, as the Commission's sector page states. This explainer sets out which EU regulations carry that obligation, what it covers, and what the Commission's own review documents say.
October 9, 2026 · updated October 11, 2026
How a UK vehicle safety recall works on paper: notification, the 90% threshold and what gets published
DVSA's code of practice, updated 6 March 2024, sets out the UK recall process in detail: the duty to notify once a safety defect is confirmed, a 28-day response window, roughly three notifications per motorist, a 90% closure threshold for reporting, and publication on GOV.UK. A companion code covers aftermarket parts.
October 8, 2026
The EU General Safety Regulation on paper: the mandatory safety systems every new vehicle must carry since 7 July 2024
A standing reference to Regulation (EU) 2019/2144, the EU market's General Safety Regulation: which safety systems it requires for cars, vans, trucks and buses, when the deadlines applied, what the Commission says it is expected to save, and the framework it sets for automated vehicles.
October 8, 2026
How a US light-duty vehicle gets EPA certified: the certificate of conformity path, step by step
Before a new passenger car or truck can be sold in the United States, the Clean Air Act requires that it be covered by an EPA certificate of conformity. The US EPA's own certification pages lay out a nine-step process in the EV-CIS system, from manufacturer registration to the certificate arriving in an electronic inbox. This explainer walks through that path and the testing layers that surround it.
October 6, 2026
The UK Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate as law: the 3 January 2024 commencement and the thresholds set that day
On 3 January 2024, the Department for Transport announced that the zero emission vehicle mandate had commenced in law in Great Britain, setting annual zero emission shares for new cars and vans rising to 100% by 2035. This article reports what the announcement said, in the Department's own words, with every UK figure and claim dated to that document.
October 5, 2026
One approval, all of Europe: how EU whole-vehicle type approval works, in the European Commission's own words
The European Commission's own explainer pages set out how EU whole-vehicle type approval (WVTA) works: a national authority certifies a vehicle type once, mutual recognition makes it valid across the EU, every produced car carries a certificate of conformity, and conformity-of-production and in-service checks continue after sale. This standing reference quotes the Commission's passages on the roles of type-approval authorities, technical services and market surveillance authorities, the Regulation (EU) 2018/858 framework that applies across the EU from 1 September 2020, and the proposed reform's €30,000-per-vehicle penalty provision. It applies to vehicles sold in the EU market.
October 5, 2026
FMVSS No. 127 on paper: what NHTSA's automatic emergency braking rule requires of US cars and light trucks by September 2029
The US automatic emergency braking mandate, finalized by NHTSA in April 2024 as FMVSS No. 127, sets performance requirements for cars and light trucks sold in the United States, with compliance by September 2029. Here is what the standard requires, according to NHTSA's own announcement.
October 4, 2026
NHTSA's standard reference test tire: the 2022 rule that swapped a 14-inch baseline for a 16-inch one
A rules-and-rights explainer of NHTSA's June 8, 2022 final rule (87 FR 34800, Docket No. NHTSA-2020-0067) replacing the 14-inch standard reference test tire with a 16-inch SRTT across US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and the Uniform Tire Quality Grading program. It covers the SRTT's three documented roles - verifying test-surface friction for braking and electronic stability control standards, serving as the traction reference for the FMVSS No. 139 snow tire determination, and acting as the course reference tire in treadwear grading - and how a reader can check the amended text.
October 2, 2026 · updated October 6, 2026
EU CO2 targets for new cars and vans on paper: Regulation 2019/631, the 2035 revision proposal and what it means for compliance
A reference guide to the EU's fleet-wide CO2 emission standards for new cars and vans, as documented by the European Commission: the 2025-2034 targets under Regulation (EU) 2019/631 and Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/1623, the 100% reduction target from 2035 under Regulation (EU) 2023/851, and the December 2025 Automotive Package proposal to soften the 2035 requirement to a 90% tailpipe reduction, with flexibilities for low-carbon Union steel and e-fuels and a cut to the 2030 vans target. Also explained: manufacturer-specific targets, pooling, ZLEV benchmarks, the €95 excess emissions premium, small-volume derogations, eco-innovation credits and real-world monitoring.
October 2, 2026
How NHTSA defines the levels of driving automation — and why Levels 3-5 are not for sale to US consumers
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration divides driving automation into six levels, 0 through 5, with Levels 0-2 described as driver assistance where the human remains fully engaged. Per the agency's own pages, Level 3-5 technologies are not on today's vehicles for consumer purchase, and NHTSA says no vehicle currently for sale in the United States is fully automated. This explainer runs through the definitions in the agency's own words and the crash-reporting regime attached to them, citing the US market throughout.
September 29, 2026
The EU tyre label, on paper: what Regulation (EU) 2020/740 requires and how to read it
What the EU energy label on tyres shows - fuel efficiency, wet grip, noise and the snow and ice pictograms - how the classes are tested, and what the Commission's own pages say about EPREL, the public registry covering tyres that must be sold bearing a label in the EU.
September 29, 2026
NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings, on paper: how the US stars are built — and what carmakers may say about them
How the US New Car Assessment Program awards its stars in frontal, side barrier, side pole and rollover tests, how the Overall Vehicle Score is computed, what the ⚠ safety-concern symbol means, and the advertising rules NHTSA sets for anyone quoting the ratings. All detail is US-market and taken from NHTSA's own pages.
September 28, 2026 · updated October 5, 2026
How the IIHS small overlap front test works, on paper
A document-based explainer of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's small overlap front crash test: the 40 mph, 25% overlap corner impact, how it differs from the updated moderate overlap test, and what IIHS's own 2023 study found about real-world fatality risk.
September 27, 2026
ANCAP star ratings, on paper: how a car is scored in Australia and New Zealand, what the TESTED datestamp means, and when a rating goes 'unrated'
The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) rates new vehicles for the Australian and New Zealand markets on a zero-to-five star scale. Here is how its four assessment areas work, why the overall rating is limited by the weakest area, what the TESTED year datestamp tells you, and when a model can end up unrated.
September 26, 2026
IIHS names 63 US-market Top Safety Pick winners for 2026 under tougher crash-avoidance and back-seat rules
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced its first 2026 award winners for the US market on March 24, 2026: 63 vehicles so far, 45 Top Safety Pick+ and 18 Top Safety Pick, up from 48 at the same point in 2025. We summarize the 2026 criteria changes and how to check a specific model.
September 25, 2026 · updated October 2, 2026
How Euro NCAP tests a car, on paper: crash tests, dummies, vehicle selection and the 2026 protocol changes
Euro NCAP's own explainer sets out how its European star ratings are produced: minimum requirements updated every three years, independently tested type-approved production cars, crash protection, child occupant and vulnerable-road-user assessments, active-safety tests and post-crash rescue checks. Here is how the process works in the body's own words, and where the formal protocols are published.
September 25, 2026
The EPA smog rating, on paper: how 10 to 1 maps to Tier 3 and CARB LEV III, model year by model year
EPA's Green Vehicle Guide assigns every US light-duty vehicle a smog rating from 10 (cleanest) to 1 based on tailpipe emissions. We walk through what the rating measures, how vehicles are tested before sale, and the full rating scales from MY2008 to MY2025 — including why a MY2018 score of 3 is about the same as a MY2017 score of 6.
September 22, 2026
The US connected-vehicles rule, on paper: what BIS prohibits, and when the Model Year 2027 and 2030 deadlines bite
On January 14, 2025, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) finalized a rule prohibiting certain connected-vehicle transactions with a sufficient nexus to China or Russia in the United States. Here is what the rule covers, the Vehicle Connectivity System and Automated Driving System software and hardware it targets, the phased Model Year 2027 and 2030 deadlines, and the compliance machinery behind it. (US market; all figures and dates from BIS documents.)
September 22, 2026 · updated October 2, 2026
Tires and fuel economy on paper: how NHTSA built its tire fuel efficiency rating program, 2009–2011
A rules-and-rights explainer of the US Tire Fuel Efficiency Consumer Information Program, built from the three Federal Register documents that carried it: the June 2009 proposal, the March 2010 final rule and the December 2011 amendments. What replacement passenger car tires are rated, what is excluded, and what manufacturers must still report.
September 21, 2026
The 2025 Tesla Model 3 earns the IIHS Top Safety Pick award: the US results, criterion by criterion
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's rating page for the 2025 Tesla Model 3, as read on September 21, 2026, carries a Top Safety Pick award for US-market models, with criterion-level results: G in small overlap front, A in the updated moderate overlap front test, G in the updated side test, A for headlights, G in both front crash prevention evaluations and M for seat belt reminders. Here is the result, test by test.
September 20, 2026 · updated October 1, 2026
EU issues general guidance on how Chinese BEV makers can offer price undertakings in place of anti-subsidy duties
On 12 January 2026 the European Commission's Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security issued a Guidance Document on price undertaking offers for battery electric vehicles from China. The guidance addresses aspects including minimum import prices, sales channels, cross-compensation and future investments in the EU, and applies to exporters currently facing definitive countervailing duties of 7.8% to 35.3% under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2754, applicable as of 30 October 2024 in the EU market.
September 20, 2026
The UK–US car tariff episode in the SMMT's own words: two dated statements, April 2 to June 30, 2025
A files-style trace of two primary statements from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the UK motor industry body, covering the arc of the US tariff episode: the April 2, 2025 response to the announced 10% tariff on UK products and the 25% tariff set for cars, and the June 30, 2025 welcome for the implemented UK–US trading agreement.
September 19, 2026
Crash test dummies on paper: what 49 CFR Part 572 actually specifies, from the ES-2re and Q3s to the proposed THOR-50M
Before a crash test dummy can be used in a US compliance test or a 5-Star Safety Ratings run, its design, qualification tests and response ranges have to be written down in federal regulation. We walk through how NHTSA's 49 CFR Part 572 defines its crash test dummies, using three Federal Register documents: the 2008 final rule on the ES-2re side impact dummy, the 2021 final rule adding the Q3s 3-year-old child dummy, and the 2023 proposal to add the THOR-50M frontal dummy.
September 18, 2026
Polestar's US September offers: up to $25,000 off a 2026 Polestar 4, 0% APR for 60 months, $499/month leases
Polestar's US pages carry dated September 1–30, 2026 offers: a $25,000 Clean Vehicle Incentive on a cash purchase of a new 2026 Polestar 4, $18,000 when financed at 0% APR for 60 months, a $499/month 27-month lease, a matching $25,000 cash incentive on the 2025 Polestar 3, a $1,000 loyalty bonus and 4.99% APR on pre-owned Polestar 2 models. Here is what the fine print says and how to check the terms yourself.
September 18, 2026
Germany's e-scooter type approvals on paper: what the KBA's national eKFV list covers
Germany requires e-scooters (Elektrokleinstfahrzeuge, eKFV) to carry a national type approval. The Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt in Flensburg publishes the register of those approvals online, entry by entry, with approval numbers, dates, trade descriptions and manufacturers. Here is how the list is organised and what each entry tells you.
September 16, 2026
How a nonconforming car can legally enter the US: the Part 593 eligibility list and the HS-7 boxes
A rules-and-rights explainer for the US market: how NHTSA decides which vehicles not built to US safety standards may be imported, how the annual Appendix A list under 49 CFR Part 593 works, and which HS-7 declaration box applies at entry.
September 14, 2026
US federal EV charging rules on paper: 23 CFR 680's connector requirements, the FHWA's J3400 request for information, and the pending ADA/ABA accessibility proposal
A rules-and-rights reference for the United States market, built from three Federal Register documents: the FHWA's February 2023 NEVI Standards final rule (23 CFR part 680), the FHWA's March 2024 request for information on the SAE J3400 connector, and the US Access Board's September 2024 proposal on EV charging station accessibility. The first two are in force; the third is a proposal, not a requirement.
September 11, 2026
NHTSA withdraws the AV STEP rulemaking: the voluntary ADS evaluation program is dead as of June 26, 2026
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has withdrawn its January 2025 proposal for a voluntary AV STEP program. The withdrawal notice relays commenters' concerns about sparse expected participation and overlap with State rules, and points to substitute initiatives under the April 2025 Automated Vehicle Framework. A look at what the proposed program would have required, why the agency pulled it, and what the notice says remains in place for automated driving systems in the US market.
September 11, 2026 · updated September 29, 2026
The UK Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate, in SMMT's own words: three statements from 2022, 2023 and 2025
Three dated statements from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the UK motor industry body, trace its position on the UK Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate as the regulation moved from proposal to law to amendment: ambition acknowledged, but consistent calls for consumer incentives and binding infrastructure targets.
September 11, 2026
Paper trails on paper: what NHTSA's Federal Register documents require of manufacturers when a recall happens
A rules-and-rights explainer for the US market, built from NHTSA's own Federal Register documents: the domestic defect-reporting framework under 49 CFR Part 573, dealer and distributor notification under Part 577, the foreign-recall reporting regime of Part 579 set out in the 2002 final rule, and the ongoing VIN-tracking and completion-rate reporting duties documented in the agency's 2023 notice.
September 11, 2026
NHTSA lifts the manufacture-date limit on temporary FMVSS exemptions — and takes applications online
On July 31, 2026, an interim final rule from NHTSA amended 49 CFR part 555, the regulation governing temporary exemptions from the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and the bumper standard. The rule removes language tying a temporary exemption to vehicles manufactured on or after the exemption's effective date, leaving the covered vehicle population to the Administrator's discretion, and replaces the three-copy paper application with electronic submission. The rule's original comment deadline of August 31, 2026 was itself extended by an interim final rule published on August 31, 2026. Here is what the rule changes, how part 555 exemptions work, and why driverless-vehicle makers have used them.
September 11, 2026
How a US VIN is built: what NHTSA's 49 CFR Part 565 requires, from the 2008 final rule to the current text
A source-grounded explainer of the United States vehicle identification number rule: the 17-character VIN, what it is for, how NHTSA's April 30, 2008 final rule reshaped the format, when the requirements apply by build date, and how the 2022 replica-vehicle amendments fit in. All figures and dates come from the Federal Register documents and the current eCFR text of 49 CFR Part 565, and apply to the United States market.
September 11, 2026 · updated September 12, 2026
NHTSA's June 2025 interpretive rule on CAFE: the agency's new reading of 49 U.S.C. 32902(h)
An interpretive rule published June 11, 2025 (90 FR 24518, Docket No. NHTSA-2025-0055) restates how NHTSA reads the statutory limits in 49 U.S.C. 32902(h) for dedicated alternative-fuel vehicles, dual-fueled vehicles and compliance credits, and points to next steps in resetting the Corporate Average Fuel Economy program for the US market. For manufacturers, its practical effect will arrive through the substantive rulemakings that follow it.
September 11, 2026
NHTSA delays US seat belt reminder compliance to September 1, 2028 in answer to petitions
NHTSA published an interim final rule in the Federal Register on April 6, 2026 (91 FR 17144) responding to petitions for reconsideration of its seat belt reminder requirements, delaying the compliance dates to September 1, 2028 in the US market. The interim final rule is effective April 6, 2026, and comments are due no later than May 21, 2026, per the document's dates.
September 11, 2026
NHTSA publishes notice of GM petition for inconsequential-noncompliance decision (Docket No. NHTSA-2024-0048); comments open until October 13, 2026
NHTSA published a Federal Register notice on September 11, 2026 (91 FR 57957) acknowledging receipt of General Motors' petition for a decision of inconsequential noncompliance, Docket No. NHTSA-2024-0048, with comments due October 13, 2026.