The United Nations is likely to adopt Japanese safety rules for hybrid as well as electric vehicles. The UN panel on international automobile standards will probably announce an official agreement in March that will take effect by the end of this year.

According to a report in The Nikkei, the UN World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations will likely adopt many Japanese safety rules for hybrid and electric vehicles as global standards. The working party of the UN is tasked with creating a uniform set of regulations for vehicle design to facilitate international trade. The forum works on regulations covering vehicle safety, environmental protection, energy efficiency and theft-resistance.

The World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations will meet in Geneva 9-12 March 2010 and it is expected to agree to the proposals that have been pushed by Japan. The revised agreement would then take effect by the end of the year.

Japanese car industry to benefit from pioneering work

Currently there are no global safety standards for hybrid and electric vehicles and Japan has been pushing its domestic safety rules for those vehicles to be adopted as international standards since negotiations at the forum began in 2008. As Japanese companies have been among the pioneers in the green car sector, the country was one of the early adopters of related safety rules.

The Nikkei also reports that start-ups in China and elsewhere have developed and begun manufacturing electric vehicles, but some are deemed insufficient in terms of safety features.

If Japanese rules are largely adopted as global standards, it will likely benefit Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., as they will likely be able to continue selling their hybrid vehicles without much modification.