NG-eCall certification policy has been moving fast between 2025 and 2026. The EU Regulation (EU) 2024/1180 officially took effect, then came the 2025 amendment (EU) 2025/1871, and testing standards, document requirements, and compliance deadlines all shifted. Engineers who have been doing vehicle export certification for a few years can feel it: the bar is clearly going up.
This regulation is the parent law for NG-eCall. Published in 2024, it replaced the traditional eCall provisions in (EU) 2015/758. The regulation lays out three core things.
First, NG-eCall systems must be based on 4G/5G IMS architecture. New applications using 2G/3G CS architecture are no longer accepted. January 1, 2026 is the dividing line. Any type approval application submitted after that date must include NG-eCall on the vehicle.
Second, the regulation defines the Minimum Set of Data version 3 (MSD V3). Compared to the old MSD, V3 adds vehicle orientation data, crash direction, passenger count, airbag status, and high-voltage battery state. Video transmission fields are reserved but EU regulations do not mandate onboard cameras or real-time video uploads. Some member states run voluntary pilots, but companies can obtain certification without adding cameras.
Third, the regulation sets transition period rules and change management procedures. Component and whole-vehicle certificates do not have a fixed statutory validity period like 3 years. Certificates remain valid long-term as long as the company submits annual conformity of production (CoP) reports, passes annual product sampling, and only triggers retesting when major changes occur to communication modules or IMS firmware. Minor hardware changes like exterior or interior updates do not require retesting.
Hard Technical Thresholds and the Four-Layer Timeline
EN 17184:2024 mandates IMS call setup latency of 3 seconds or less. The old CS-eCall standard of 10 seconds no longer applies. This is a hardware design threshold that R&D teams must lock in early. If testing shows the number is off, it is an automatic fail.
The policy timeline breaks down into four layers:
·January 1, 2025 — NG-eCall component and whole-vehicle certification applications open. Companies can voluntarily get ahead of the curve.
·January 1, 2026 — New type approval applications reject pure 2G/3G CS-eCall solutions.
·January 1, 2027 — All legacy CS-eCall certificates become invalid. Vehicles relying on the old system can no longer be sold in the EU.
·January 1, 2028 — Transition period NG-eCall certificates expire. Full enforcement of EN 17184:2024 and EN 17240:2024 begins.
What the 2025 Amendment (EU) 2025/1871 Adds
This amendment was released in late 2025 and is mandatory for certification projects submitted after January 1, 2026. Vehicles certified during the 2025 transition period only need to complete remediation before 2028.
The biggest change is the full working condition test for shared backup power. The NG-eCall system must have a backup battery that, after vehicle power loss, supports 5 minutes of call time plus 56 minutes of standby plus another 5 minutes of call time, totaling 66 minutes of endurance. Designing the battery for just 10 minutes will result in a direct test failure.
Another change is stricter GDPR data privacy review. The amendment requires technical submissions to include data encryption algorithms, transmission encryption protocols, local storage time limits, remote data deletion mechanisms, and user informed consent documents. The reviewing body sends these to a Data Protection Officer for item-by-item verification. Vague submissions get rejected outright, stretching out the timeline.
One easily overlooked change: MSD V3 test reports must now be issued by a laboratory with CMA accreditation. Some companies previously submitted internal test reports as a substitute. That no longer works.
Dual-Mode Fallback and the AECS National Standard Difference
NG-eCall prioritizes IMS VoIP packet domain calls. It only falls back to CS circuit domain when the local PSAP does not support VoIP, not simply when signal is weak. After 2027, European 3G shutdowns mean the fallback channel is only a temporary bridge. Vehicle R&D teams need to focus on verifying PSAP VoIP compatibility rather than relying on CS as a permanent backup.
China has also released its own national standard. GB 45672-2025 "Vehicle Accident Emergency Call System" was published on April 25, 2025, with mandatory enforcement starting July 1, 2027. It covers M1 and N1 category vehicles and requires BeiDou-first positioning, which is a core difference from NG-eCall. China follows the "Several Provisions on Automobile Data Security Management," while the EU enforces GDPR. The two data compliance frameworks are not interchangeable, and the certifications are not mutually recognized. To enter both markets, you need to run both certification tracks.
The IMS Protocol Adaptation Problem in Practice
NG-eCall runs on IMS architecture, which places new demands on the vehicle communication module's protocol stack.
Traditional eCall could get by with AT commands controlling the module to dial emergency calls. NG-eCall requires IMS protocol support, meaning the module must handle SIP and SDP, with concurrent voice and data transmission. During testing, the lab simulates a PSAP to verify IMS signaling interaction between the vehicle and the PSAP.
Here is the catch: some communication modules sold in China have trimmed IMS protocol stacks that only work with domestic VoLTE. They cannot connect to European NG-eCall test environments. When selecting a module, confirm upfront whether the vendor has an NG-eCall test report. If they do not, the OEM bears the risk of protocol stack remediation.
This is not a hypothetical scenario. We have seen projects stall for six to eight weeks because a module that passed domestic VoLTE testing could not complete the SIP registration handshake with the European test PSAP. The fix involved firmware patches from the module vendor, coordinated across three time zones. Start asking your module supplier about IMS stack compliance now, not when the car is already in the lab.
What to Watch Next
The regulatory landscape will keep shifting. CEN (European Committee for Standardization) releases technical clarification reports for EN 17184:2024 and EN 17240:2024 as implementation issues surface. These reports are not part of the formal standard text, but labs and notified bodies follow them in practice. A clarification issued mid-year can change how a specific test is conducted, even if the standard number stays the same.
Companies should track these clarifications actively. Relying on last year's interpretation of the standard is a good way to fail a test that was previously passable.
BlueAsia Testing is a Huawei HiCar authorized certification organization, recognized with the "Excellent Certification Organization" award in 2025. We help automakers and component manufacturers track the latest NG-eCall policy requirements, prepare certification documents, and coordinate testing.
For NG-eCall policy consultation, contact BlueAsia Testing: 13632500972 (Benson)
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