European and American market access requirements for light electric vehicles,
Electric Vehicles,

▍What is WERCSmart REGISTRATION?

WERCSmart is the abbreviation of World Environmental Regulatory Compliance Standard.

WERCSmart is a product registration database company developed by a US company called The Wercs. It aims to provide a supervision platform of product safety for supermarkets in US and Canada, and make product purchasing easier. In the processes of selling, transporting, storing and disposing products among retailers and registered recipients, products will face increasingly complicated challenges from federal, states or local regulation. Usually, the Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) supplied along with the products do not cover adequate data of which information shows compliance with laws and regulations. While WERCSmart transforms the product data to that conforming to laws and regulations.

▍Scope of registration products

Retailers determine the registration parameters for each supplier. Following categories shall be registered for reference. However, the list below is incomplete, so verification on registration requirement with your buyers is suggested.

◆All Chemical Containing Product

◆OTC Product and Nutritional Supplements

◆Personal Care Products

◆Battery-Driven Products

◆Products with Circuit Boards or Electronics        

◆Light Bulbs

◆Cooking Oil                      

◆Food dispensed by Aerosol or Bag-On-Valve

▍Why MCM？

● Technical personnel support: MCM is equipped with a professional team who studies SDS laws and regulations for long. They have in-depth knowledge of the change of laws and regulations and have provided authorized SDS service for a decade. 

● Closed-loop type service: MCM has professional personnel communicating with auditors from WERCSmart, ensuring smooth process of registration and verification. So far, MCM has provided WERCSmart registration service for more than 200 clients.

Light electric vehicles (electric bicycles and other mopeds) are clearly defined in federal regulations in the United States as consumer goods, with a maximum power of 750 W and a maximum speed of 32.2 km/h. Vehicles that exceed this specification are road vehicles and are regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). All consumer goods, such as toys, home appliances, power banks, light vehicles and other products are regulated by the Consumers Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
The increased regulation of light electric vehicles and their batteries in North America stems from the CPSC’s major safety bulletin to the industry on December 20, 2022, which reported at least 208 light electric vehicle fires in 39 states from 2021 to the end of 2022, resulting in a total of 19 deaths. If light vehicles and their batteries meet the corresponding UL standards, the risk of death and injury will be greatly reduced.
New York City was the first to respond to CPSC requirements, making it mandatory for light vehicles and their batteries to meet UL standards last year. Both New York and California have draft bills awaiting release. The federal government also approved H.R.1797, which seeks to incorporate safety requirements for light vehicles and their batteries into federal regulations. Here’s a breakdown of state, city and federal laws:
Sales of light mobile devices are subject to UL 2849 or UL 2272 certification from an accredited testing laboratory.
Sales of batteries for light mobile devices are subject to UL 2271 certification from an accredited testing laboratory.
Progress: Mandatory on September 16, 2023.