From July this year the new, stricter Automotive EMC Directive comes into force. As a manufacturer of electrical and electronic automotive products you must ensure that your technical designs comply with the most recent standards. 

The old Automotive EMC Directive considered the vehicle to be one assembly and did not take account of what was going on inside the vehicle. A vehicle was not permitted to react to external signals, nor could the vehicle itself interfere with its surroundings. The new directive now specifies that the electrical components with batteries and wiring that are located in the vehicle may not interfere with one another either.  

Via the RDW, KEMA has been involved in the development of the changed directive right from the start. Through timely investment in measurement equipment, KEMA has already been carrying out the stricter inspections since the beginning of this year. The documentation, the initial quality assessment, the certification request submitted to the RDW and the annual CoP (Conformity of Production) are also part of the KEMA expertise.

Every vehicle that uses public roads must comply fully with the European directive. For a complete vehicle, this means approximately 26 partial certificates. The RDW and TNO are responsible for the lion’s share of these. For matters concerning the electrical/electronic components, KEMA is the RDW recognized certification body. These three parties cooperate very closely and can be of service to manufacturers throughout the world who wish to sell their vehicles or automotive components on the European market.

The stricter Automotive EMC Directive applies for all new electrical and electronic automotive products. The new directive now specifies that the electrical components with batteries and wiring that are located in the vehicle may not interfere with one another either. This means that manufacturers must include the EMC performance of their power supplies during the development of electronic automotive components.

Many manufacturers have already been developing quality products for years that comply with the new directive.   From July, the manufacturers who are not yet doing this must also ensure that all new products comply with the stricter requirements. For existing products, a transition period of three years applies. As a result, products that have a longer lifecycle and development process, such as onboard computers, ABS and engine management systems, should already be certified according to the new directive.   

For more information, please contact us.