40 CFR § 1037.620 - Responsibilities for multiple manufacturers.

§ 1037.620 Responsibilities for multiple manufacturers.

This section describes certain circumstances in which multiple manufacturers share responsibilities for vehicles they produce together. This section does not limit responsibilities that apply under the Act or these regulations for anyone meeting the definition of “manufacturer” in § 1037.801. Note that the definition of manufacturer is broad and can include persons not commercially considered to be manufacturers.

(a) The following provisions apply when there are multiple persons meeting the definition of manufacturer in § 1037.801:

(1) Each person meeting the definition of manufacturer must comply with the requirements of this part that apply to manufacturers. However, if one person complies with a specific requirement for a given vehicle, then all manufacturers are deemed to have complied with that specific requirement.

(2) We will apply the requirements of subparts C and D of this part to the manufacturer that obtains the certificate of conformity for the vehicle. Other manufacturers are required to comply with the requirements of subparts C and D of this part only when notified by us. In our notification, we will specify a reasonable time period in which you need to comply with the requirements identified in the notice. See § 1037.601 for the applicability of 40 CFR part 1068 to these other manufacturers and re manufacturers.

(b) The provisions of § 1037.621, including delegated assembly, apply for certifying manufacturers that rely on other manufacturers to finish assembly in a certified configuration. The provisions of § 1037.622 generally apply for manufacturers that ship vehicles subject to the requirements of this part to a certifying secondary vehicle manufacturer. The provisions of § 1037.622 also apply to the secondary vehicle manufacturer. If you hold the certificate of conformity for a vehicle only with respect to exhaust or evaporative emissions, and a different company holds the other certificate of conformity for that vehicle, the provisions of § 1037.621 apply with respect to the certified configuration as described in your application for certification, and the provisions of § 1037.622 apply with respect to the certified configuration as described in the other manufacturer's application for certification.

(c) Component manufacturers (such as tire manufacturers) providing test data to certifying vehicle manufacturers are responsible as follows for test components and emission test results provided to vehicle manufacturers for the purpose of certification under this part:

(1) Such test results are deemed under § 1037.825 to be submissions to EPA. This means that you may be subject to criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. 1001 if you knowingly submit false test results to the certifying manufacturer.

(2) You may not cause a vehicle manufacturer to violate the regulations by rendering inaccurate emission test results you provide (or emission test results from testing of test components you provide) to the vehicle manufacturer (see 40 CFR 1068.101(c)).

(3) Your provision of test components and/or emission test results to vehicle manufacturers for the purpose of certifying under this part are deemed to be an agreement to provide components to EPA for confirmatory testing under § 1037.235.

(d) Component manufacturers may contractually agree to process emission warranty claims on behalf of the certifying manufacturer with respect to those components, as follows:

(1) Your fulfillment of the warranty requirements of this part is deemed to fulfill the vehicle manufacturer's warranty obligations under this part with respect to components covered by your warranty.

(2) You may not cause a vehicle manufacturer to violate the regulations by failing to fulfill the emission warranty requirements that you contractually agreed to fulfill (see 40 CFR 1068.101(c)).

(e) We may require component manufacturers to provide information or take other actions under 42 U.S.C. 7542. For example, we may require component manufacturers to test components they produce.

[81 FR 74048, Oct. 25, 2016, as amended at 89 FR 29787, Apr. 22, 2024]