TPMS coming to Europe

Globally, mandates for TPMS legislation are picking up steam. In Europe, driven by the desire for CO2 reduction, legislation for a TPMS mandate was agreed upon and passed by the European parliament in November 2009, with implementation phase-in starting in 2012 and 100 percent compliance by 2014. TPMS offers an average of around 2 percent improved fuel economy and is seen as one of several fuel efficiency improvements that European car makers are undertaking to reach the new standards for average fleet CO2 emission levels. Of course safety is also regarded as an important benefit, but critically the CO2 reduction has driven the legislation to a more stringent accuracy level than the TREAD Act in the United States.

Following the lead of U.S. and European TPMS mandates, Asia represents the next large vehicle region ripe for TPMS legislation. Japan, Korea, China and India are all currently in the process of adopting similar legislation. Korea has already confirmed its intention with legislation, now confirmed just two months behind the European timeline for full implementation. Japan, China and India are expected to follow, most likely within a year or two of these dates, with conservative estimates of Japan in 2017, China in 2018 and India in 2019.