Spain's ITV test centres prepare for new European regulations and personal mobility vehicle testing

The Spanish association of businesses collaborating with the technical inspection of vehicles in Spain (AECA-ITV) opened the ITV 2025 sector conference in Madrid on Wednesday this week: a two-day meeting under the slogan 'The transport of the future goes through the ITV'.

The event brought together around 300 people, including the main representatives of the sector and members of the state, regional and local administrations, Congreso members, the state prosecution, the traffic authorities (DGT) and police forces.

During the opening, AECA-ITV focused on the sector's main challenge: the need for standardised access to electronic vehicle information in order to properly inspect advanced active (ADAS) and passive (ARAS) safety systems, as well as state-of-the-art environmental technologies.

The organisation stated that the availability of reliable and homogeneous data is essential to verify their correct functioning at the ITV inspection and maintain the effectiveness of these systems throughout the lifetime of the vehicle.

The sector noted that future European regulations foresee ITV stations incorporating electronic diagnostic tools (OBD) and remote access to ensure functional checks of all these systems through connectivity and standardised data. In this context, the development of a common European platform and a unified data structure is considered essential to enable safe, standardised and non-discriminatory access.

José Manuel Prieto from the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, who hosted the opening ceremony, said that the ITV is not a tax, but an action that saves lives and contributes to environmental protection.

AECA-ITV president Jesús García Gil highlighted the functionality of ITV stations, which ensure road safety. He also identified the main challenge facing the sector: reducing the high rate of non-compliance, pointing out that today three out of every ten vehicles that should undergo ITV inspections have not done so.

The regulatory update of the Mot at European level was also a central topic. Executive director of the international Mot committee Eduard Fernández outlined the main new developments. The sector's proposal includes making the Mot compulsory for all types of vehicles, including those in category L (motorbikes, mopeds and quadricycles) and increasing the inspection frequency for vehicles in categories M and N (passenger cars, vans, buses and lorries) according to their use and mileage.

Another point of debate was the need for a national regulation on personal mobility vehicles (PMVs). AECA-ITV's proposal aims to ensure that electric scooters can safely coexist alongside other modes of transport. Representatives from various entities and municipalities stressed the urgency of a national framework defining required training, technical specifications, registration and technical control throughout the life of PMVs. The example of Valladolid was highlighted, as the first city to sign a collaboration agreement to subject scooters to an ITV.

The first day of the conference ended with proposals from equipment manufacturers regarding potential new procedures for vehicle technical inspections.