A draft revision of South Africa’s compulsory specification for M1 passenger vehicles would require full-occupant airbags, electronic stability control and side-impact protection. South African derivatives have historically shipped with lower safety content than the same models sold in Europe, and the draft closes that gap across the range. The comment window closed on 10 September 2026, so attention now turns to the final gazette and the 18 to 24 month compliance clock it will start.
What Happened
General Notice No. GON 7685 was published in Government Gazette No. 54970 on 10 July 2026 by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, under the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications Act as amended through the Legal Metrology Act, and is administered by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications. It proposes an amendment to compulsory specification VC 8022, the Compulsory Specification for Motor Vehicles of Category M1 — passenger cars carrying up to eight passengers plus the driver. The notice invites comments.
What’s New
- Occupant airbags and frontal impact: compliance with UNECE R94.03 on the protection of occupants in the event of a frontal collision, referenced alongside SANS 20012:1994 Edition 1 — extending protection to all occupants rather than the driver alone.
- Electronic stability control: compliance with UNECE R140.00 on the approval of passenger cars with regard to Electronic Stability Control systems.
- Side and lateral impact protection: compliance with SANS 20095:2017 Edition 1 on the protection of occupants in the event of a lateral collision.
- Replaces a driver-airbag-centred specification with requirements tied directly to UN R94.03, UN R140.00 and SANS 20095:2017.
- Compliance period: 18 to 24 months after publication of the final gazette, with the specification taking effect on promulgation. Note this is materially longer than the six-month transition sometimes reported.
- Non-conforming M1 vehicles could not be issued a letter of authority for the South African market once the specification is final.
Key Dates & Timeline
GON 7685 published in Government Gazette No. 54970; comments invited
Comment window closed
NRCS and the dtic consider comments, then publish the final amended VC 8022
Compliance required
Affected Industries
Light duty vehicles · Local assemblers · Vehicle importers · Airbag, braking and ESC system suppliers · Body structures
Who Is Affected
OEMs selling M1 vehicles in South Africa, local assemblers, importers of entry-level and budget derivatives, and airbag and ESC module suppliers; homologation teams submitting to the NRCS.
Standards / Products in Scope
M1 category passenger vehicles placed on the South African market, including entry-level derivatives and locally assembled models. Categories other than M1 are out of scope, and the extent of any lower-specification exemption is one of the points under consultation.
Prohibitions, Restrictions & Requirements
Once the amended specification is final and the compliance period has run, an M1 vehicle that does not meet the airbag, ESC and side-impact requirements could not receive a letter of authority for the South African market.
What Companies Should Do
- Pull the safety-content matrix for every South African derivative and identify which trims lack ESC or full-occupant airbags — those are the ones at risk.
- The comment window has closed, so if you need a longer transition on a particular derivative, raise it directly with the NRCS now rather than waiting for the final gazette — once published, the 18 to 24 month clock runs.
- Start the bill-of-material and cost work for affected entry-level trims now; side-impact compliance in particular can require structural change rather than added content.
- Check whether the European specification of the same model already meets all three requirements — where it does, the decision becomes a commercial one about derivative strategy rather than an engineering one.
This is the kind of regulation that removes a market segment rather than adding a component. Entry-level derivatives built to a South African price point are the exposure. With comments closed, the final gazette could come at any point, and the 18 to 24 month clock only starts then — so the engineering and cost work is what to get moving on, not the submission.
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