Interpretation ID: 19664.ztv

Mr. Ron Dawson
4224 Quince Road
Portsmouth, VA 23703

Dear Mr. Dawson:

This is in reply to your e-mail of March 3, 1999, telling us that you are preparing a business plan to produce a new kit car. You have asked about our policy regarding kit car manufacturing, and, specifically, the Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) that apply to a kit car manufacturer.

Under your plan, you would sell "all necessary parts required to formulate an automobile except for engine and gear box." These parts would be new. You would sell the kit of parts "in any stage of assembly from a box of unassembled parts to a completely assembled automobile minus engine and gearbox." The purchaser of the kit would provide "a previously owned or used engine and gearbox." The purchaser would assemble, or complete assembly of, the vehicle. The vehicle would be for personal use, on public roads, and not for resale.

We have no regulations that apply per se to the manufacture of kit cars. However, a seller of motor vehicle equipment is subject to the statutory requirement that the equipment item must conform to all applicable FMVSS, if any are in effect that cover the equipment item. We find that, generally, equipment manufactured in the United States is certified by its manufacturer as conforming to applicable FMVSS. The items of passenger car motor vehicle equipment that are the subject of specific Federal motor vehicle safety standards are brake hoses (FMVSS No. 106), items of lighting equipment (FMVSS No. 108), pneumatic tires (FMVSS No. 109), brake fluids (FMVSS No. 116), non-pneumatic temporary spare tires (FMVSS No. 129), glazing materials (FMVSS No. 205), and seat belt assemblies (FMVSS No. 209).

This equipment is required to be marked with a DOT symbol as a certification of compliance (alternatively, the containers of lighting equipment other than headlamps may bear a certification statement). Therefore, you may rely upon this certification, unless NHTSA or the manufacturer has determined that a noncompliance exists.

We have encountered compliance problems from time to time with equipment manufactured outside the United States, particularly lighting equipment. Were you to import noncomplying equipment for a kit, we would regard you as the manufacturer of the equipment and responsible for notifying purchasers and remedying the noncompliance through repurchase of the equipment, or replacing it with a complying item, at no expense to the owner, even if the equipment were certified. You would also be liable for civil penalties for importing and selling noncomplying equipment if it is not certified. If the noncomplying equipment is certified, you would not be liable for a penalty unless you actually knew the equipment was noncompliant.

You may assemble the vehicle up to the point of installation of its power train without becoming its manufacturer. However, if you decided to furnish an engine and transmission with the kit, we would consider you the manufacturer and responsible for the vehicle's noncompliance with all applicable FMVSS, and certifying compliance, even though the vehicle would be assembled by another person. In the situation you describe, in which you do not furnish the engine and transmission, the person installing the engine and transmission, whether the kit purchaser or a commercial entity such as a repair facility, would be regarded as the manufacturer of the vehicle, and responsible for its compliance with the FMVSS. The fact that the kit car may be equipped with a used transmission and engine is not sufficient to relieve it of the legal necessity to comply with all FMVSS that apply to motor vehicles manufactured from all new parts.

Of course, the kit car must meet all State and local requirements in order to be registered and operated.

If you have any questions, you may call Taylor Vinson of this Office (202-366-5263).

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
ref:VSA
d.3/29/99