The 2025 ASEAN + China Road Safety Capacity Building Workshop
CITA actively contributed to the 2025 ASEAN + China Road Safety Capacity Building Workshop, held from 25 to 27 November in Shenzhen, China. Co-hosted by WHO, UNECE, CITA, Global NCAP, CATARC, and MIROS, the workshop aimed to strengthen the capacity of ASEAN Member States and China to enhance road safety by aligning vehicle safety legislation, inspection systems, and regulatory practices with international standards.
Over three days, participants explored priority vehicle safety regulations, PTI implementation models, NCAP developments, and the impact of emerging technologies on national safety frameworks. The program combined high-level presentations, panel discussions, technical exchanges, and group breakout sessions designed to support the adoption and implementation of UN vehicle safety regulations across the region.
CITA was represented by its Executive Director, Mr. Eduard Fernández, who played a central role in several sessions across the workshop.
The first day covered priority vehicle safety regulations in the morning, followed by a full afternoon module dedicated to PTI. Mr. Fernández delivered two key contributions:
- “The Challenges of Vehicle Inspection”, outlining the technical, institutional, and operational constraints faced by countries developing or reforming PTI systems.
- “PTI Governance”, emphasizing the importance of transparent governance models, oversight mechanisms, and regulatory alignment with international best practice.
He also served as:
- Moderator of the PTI breakout session, focusing on PTI for Electric Vehicles, including differences compared to traditional vehicles and considerations for battery state-of-health evaluation.
- Moderator of the report-back session, ensuring a clear synthesis of national perspectives on EV-specific PTI requirements, PTI governance options, and regulatory harmonization challenges.
These contributions reinforced CITA’s longstanding leadership in advancing inspection quality, safety outcomes, and evidence-based PTI policy across diverse implementation contexts.
On the third day, discussions centered on crash-avoidance technologies, connected vehicle capabilities, ADAS performance, and regulatory progress.
Mr. Fernández played a prominent role by:
- Moderating Panel 3 on ADAS Levels 1 and 2, which examined human–machine interfaces, reliability considerations, and the need for robust regulatory and testing frameworks. Panelists included experts from CATARC, WHO, and Indonesia.
- Moderating Breakout Group 1, which explored how conformity testing can evolve to incorporate modern safety technologies—an essential step for ensuring that new ADAS, ESC, AEBS, and automated driving systems are properly validated throughout their lifecycle.
With strong engagement from ASEAN Member States, China, UNECE, WHO, CITA, CATARC, Global NCAP, and MIROS, the workshop concluded with clear action items to accelerate the harmonization of vehicle safety regulations, strengthen PTI systems, and integrate new technologies into national road safety strategies.
CITA reaffirmed its commitment to supporting countries in these efforts and will continue collaborating with international and national partners to promote safer vehicles, safer roads, and robust inspection systems worldwide.
