Interpretation ID: LondonTaxi2

Via Facsimile and Regular Mail

Mr. Larry Smith
President and CEO
London Taxis North America, Inc.
80 Union Street
Sudbury, MA 01776

Dear Mr. Smith:

This is in response to your letter of November 26, 2001, requesting an interpretation of the vehicle certification regulations at 49 CFR Part 567. Section 567.4(g) of those regulations prescribes the contents of the certification label that manufacturers are required to affix to new motor vehicles. One item of information that the certification label must contain is the name of the vehicle's manufacturer. Section 567.4(g)(1) provides that the "full corporate or individual name of the actual assembler of the vehicle"> must be stated on the certification label, unless any of three specified exceptions apply. The only pertinent exception is the one stated at section 567.4(g)(1)(i). That section provides that "[i]f a vehicle is assembled by a corporation that is controlled by another corporation that assumes responsibility for conformity with the standards, the name of the controlling corporation may be used.">

You state that London Taxis North America, Inc. (LTNA) has entered into an agreement with London Taxis International (LTI), which you identify as the British manufacturer of "the well-known London Taxi TX1 vehicle (the "TX1")." You state that "[u]nder this agreement, LTNA has the exclusive right to import a U.S. specification TX1 into the United States," and that "LTNA is solely responsible for developing the design modifications to be incorporated into the U.S. version of the TX1, as well as for all testing and certification of the U.S. specification vehicle." You state that the U.S. version of the TX1 will be assembled by LTI in the United Kingdom and imported into the United States by LTNA. You state that LTI will assign vehicle identification numbers (VINs) to the U.S. version of the TX1, and that these VINs will incorporate the world manufacturer identifier (WMI) assigned to LTI.

In light of these circumstances, you have asked whether the certification label to be affixed to the U.S. version of the TX1 may identify the vehicle as being "Manufactured by London Taxis International for London Taxis North America, Inc., which is solely responsible for U.S. certification." You express the opinion that this wording would be appropriate because 49 U.S.C. 30115 requires the "manufacturer" of a vehicle, as opposed to its "assembler," to certify that the vehicle complies with applicable safety standards and, as defined in 49 U.S.C. 30102(a)(5), the term "manufacturer" includes "importer." You also contend that some precedents exist for the wording you have proposed. Specifically, you note that the certification label affixed to model year (MY) 1997 Ford Aspire passenger cars identified those vehicles as having been "manufactured by Kia Motor Company for Ford Motor Company." You further note that in an October 13, 1981 letter to Paccar, Inc., this Office stated that Paccar's name could appear on the certification labels for vehicles assembled by Kenworth Mexicana, a Mexican affiliate.

Consistent with the wording used on the certification label for the 1997 Ford Aspire, the certification label for the U.S. version of the TX1 may identify the vehicle as being "Manufactured by London Taxis International for London Taxis North America, Inc." However, the additional wording that you have proposed, which would identify LTNA as being "solely responsible for U.S. certification" of the vehicle, may not be included on the label. There is no provision in the vehicle certification regulations for such additional wording to be included on the certification label. One purpose for including manufacturer information on the certification label is to identify the manufacturer who assumes legal responsibility for all duties and liabilities imposed under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the provisions of which are now codified at 49 U.S.C.

30101 et. seq. (See, e.g., 49 CFR 567.4(g)(1)(iii), pertaining to trailers, and 49 CFR 567.5(e), pertaining to vehicles manufactured in two or more stages.) The additional wording that you have proposed for the TX1 certification label would create ambiguity as to whether it is LTI or LTNA that is assuming legal responsibility for all duties and liabilities imposed under the Safety Act. In this circumstance, it would be unclear to NHTSA and to the vehicle owner as to which entity would be responsible for conducting a safety recall campaign in the event that the vehicle is found to contain a safety-related defect or to be in noncompliance with an applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard.

The circumstances that permitted Paccar, Inc. to be identified as the manufacturer on the certification labels of vehicles assembled by Kenworth Mexicana are not present in this case. In addition to owning a 49 percent interest in Kenworth Mexicana, Paccar informed the agency that it was responsible for the design of the vehicles produced in Mexico and exercised control over all matters relating to their compliance with the safety standards. You have made no representations that LTNA has a similar relationship to LTI, or that it has exercised similar design responsibility and control over the U.S. version of the TX1. Accordingly, there is no basis for LTNA to be identified on the certification label as the vehicles' manufacturer under the exception in 49 CFR 567.4(g)(1)(i). Additionally, LTNA's status as the vehicles' importer provides no basis for it to identify itself as the manufacturer on the certification label. Even though the term "manufacturer" is defined in 49 U.S.C. 30102(a)(5) to include the "importer" of a vehicle, 49 CFR 567.4(g)(1) explicitly requires the name of the "actual assembler" of the vehicle to be identified on the certification label, unless one of the three stated exceptions to that requirement apply. The regulation provides no exception for an importer to substitute its name for that of the actual assembler.

If you have any further questions regarding vehicle certification requirements, feel free to contact Coleman Sachs of my staff at 202-366-5238.

Sincerely,

John Womack
Acting Chief Counsel

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