Electric Vehicle Standardisation

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Last update: 1998-07-03 .

Conclusions

The standardisation work on electric vehicles is performed by several actors in the field: automotive and component manufacturers, energy suppliers, and others like user groups or government agencies. On one hand, the combined expertise of these partners will allow the writing of quality standards which are to become useful working documents for all those in the trade; on the other hand, each of them has their particular social or business interests which may influence their viewpoint on standardisation an which will ultimately define the agenda of the standardisation committees.

The activities of all the committees active in the field will lead to a structured set of documents describing the different aspects of the electric vehicle technology. However, taking into account the rapid evolution of the technology in the field, these documents are in no case to be considered as definitive, and they will be in constant evolution and revision. A too narrow definition of a standard may reflect a momentary state-of-the-art, which is due to change anyway, so that strict adherence to it may impede further technological evolution. This is extremely important when considering applications such as inductive charging, where different technologies co-exist, each having its merits for a particular application.
Furthermore, the standardisation of electric vehicles must take into account the characteristics of these vehicles, and not merely mimic existing specifications for internal-combustion engined vehicles.
Safety of the vehicle and of its associated infrastructure may of course not be compromised, and safety standards will be particularly important in the legislative and regulation fields.

The availability of accepted standards and technical documents is an important factor to allow the user, and more in particular the fleet user, to assess the value of the electric vehicle products which are made available to him or her.
For the vehicle manufacturer, and more in particular for the small and medium sized enterprise which heavily relies on external component suppliers, well-defined component standards will enable a better view on the market in order to make the best design choices.
The availability of widely recognised standards, and the adherence to these, will also allow vehicle manufacturers to present their products on a global market.

The compliance to known and accepted standards will allow to gain user confidence in the product and to develop a wide market for the electric vehicle, which will then confirm its position as the safe, reliable, energetically and economically sound transportation means of the future.

There is clearly an important task in this field for the standardisation bodies, which, in their tradition of voluntary mutual collaboration in an atmosphere of consensus, have a solid contribution to the worldwide acceptance of the electric vehicle. This way, the standardisation work creates a unique opportunity to overcome differences between nations, between economic actors or between business competitors, in order to work together towards a better future for civilisation.

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