The Motor Vehicles (Approval) Regulations 1996

Vehicles entering into service in very low numbers

1.—(1) A vehicle meets the requirements of this paragraph at a particular time if—

(a) since the 31st December immediately preceding that time less than 50 relevant Minister’s approval certificates have been issued with respect to vehicles of the relevant class;

(b) since the 31st December immediately preceding the beginning of the five year period less than 100 relevant Minister’s approval certificates have been issued with respect to vehicles of the relevant class; and

(c) no certificate of a kind specified in sub-paragraph (2) is in force with respect to a vehicle of the relevant class or the vehicle in question.

(2) The certificates referred to in sub-paragraph (1)(c) are—

(a) a certificate of conformity;

(b) a Minister’s approval certificate in a form prescribed by regulation 14 of the 1982 Regulations or regulation 9 of the 1984 Regulations; or

(c) an EC certificate of conformity.

(3) Notwithstanding anything in sub-paragraph (1), for the purposes of these Regulations, a vehicle shall be deemed to meet the requirements of this paragraph if a Minister’s approval certificate has been issued with respect to it in a form prescribed by regulation 12 and that certificate contains the letter “V” pursuant to paragraph (2)(a) of that regulation.

(4) For the purposes of this paragraph, a vehicle is a vehicle of the relevant class if it is not the vehicle in question, but is a vehicle—

(a) of the same model; and

(b) manufactured by the same manufacturer;

as the vehicle in question.

(5) For the purposes of this paragraph only, two or more vehicles manufactured by different bodies corporate shall be regarded as having been manufactured by the same manufacturer if at the date when the last of those vehicles was manufactured the bodies were inter-connected within the meaning given by section 137(5) of the Fair Trading Act 1973(1).

(6) In this paragraph—

“relevant Minister’s approval certificate” means a Minister’s approval certificate in a form prescribed by regulation 12 and containing the letter “V” pursuant to paragraph (2)(a); and

“the five year period”, in relation to any particular time, is the five year period ending at that time.

(1)

1973 c. 41. Section 137(5) was amended by the Resale Prices Act 1976 (c. 53), Schedule 3 and by the Companies Consolidation (Consequential Provisions) Act 1985 (c. 9), Schedule 2.