WE’VE OFTEN SAID THAT the Australian Design Rules (ADRs) are out of step with the modern world, and have an adverse impact on the cars that can be sold in Australia.
The inconsistencies are many, and at the launch of the new Nissan Qashqai E-Power, it was made clear that the new electric model won’t count towards Nissans emissions calculations under the proposed New Vehicle Emissions Standards (NVES).
Nissan managing director Adam Paterson, like many in the industry, is frustrated by the ADRs, and he suggested that they can, and will continue to, get in the way of progress.
One of the problems, of course, is that the Australian market, in the overall scheme of things, is tiny.
Mr Paterson said, “We requested the government to amend Vehicle Type Approval requirements to allow direct acceptance of type-approved vehicles from global major markets in full volume supply, to speed up the introduction of new vehicles.”
Such a change would allow Nissan and others to consider importing models that are currently sold in other developed markets such as Japan and Europe but currently excluded from the Australian market.
As Mr Paterson pointed out, this would allow Nissan and others to access vehicles from other markets that still meet important regulatory requirements. Removing some of those requirements while still ensuring the vehicle is safe and functional, would allow decisions to import certain vehicles to be made much sooner.
The Australian launch of the Qashqai E-Power, for example, has been delayed for years due to some specific ADR requirements. Meanwhile, the Nissan Ariya, on sale since 2022 in some other markets, still hasn’t been given an Australian launch date.