World Forum For Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations - Regulatory Differences

Regulatory Differences

Historically, one of the most conspicuous differences between UN and US regulations was the design and performance of headlamps. The Citroën DS shown here illustrates the large differences in headlamps during the 1940-1983 era when US regulations required sealed beam headlamps.

It is not currently possible to produce a single car design that fully meets both UN and US requirements simultaneously, but it is growing easier as both sets of regulations evolve. Given the size of the US vehicle market, and differing marketing strategies in North America vs. the rest of the world, many manufacturers produce vehicles in three versions: North American, rest-of-world right-hand drive (RHD) and rest-of-world left-hand-drive (LHD).

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