A multi-stage eCoC rollout for body builders
A completed vehicle carries information from more than one manufacturing stage. The practical challenge is to preserve the base vehicle's approved context while recording which later stage changed the final vehicle. One flat spreadsheet can conceal that lineage. Begin with one completed-vehicle family and one accountable owner per stage.
1. Preserve the stage chain
Identify the base manufacturer, the completing manufacturer, the relevant approvals and the vehicle identity. Keep prior-stage evidence available rather than replacing it with final-stage values. Decide which team can verify each added or changed characteristic.
2. Compare the completed vehicle with its base
Use a review sheet with base value, final value, change reason, stage owner and approval evidence. Check type/variant/version and applicable technical values against the actual approved configuration. A blank field may mean not applicable, not received or missing; record the difference.
3. Define the release gate
Before XML generation, require the responsible reviewers to resolve stage differences and confirm the final configuration. If upstream information changes after an output candidate was generated, mark the candidate stale, review affected fields and generate a new one.
4. Pilot with an exception
Test a normal completed vehicle and a second case with a changed technical value or missing earlier-stage approval reference. The pilot should show the owner, source and resolution for each exception. The final content and obligations must be checked against the applicable approval and CoC requirements.
Worked example: a completed vehicle
A base-vehicle manufacturer supplies its approved base record. A second-stage body builder adds equipment and changes the vehicle's final characteristics. The completion team must identify which information belongs to the base stage, what changed at completion and which approval references support those changes. A simple comparison sheet lists base value, completed value, responsible stage, evidence and reviewer; it must not overwrite the base history.
Before generating the completed-vehicle certificate, reconcile VIN, stage references, final mass and other applicable technical values against the approved records. If an upstream stage changes after review, reopen affected downstream values and regenerate any XML candidate based on the old data. This is a process example, not a statement that any particular field is always mandatory.
Regulation (EU) 2018/858 assigns responsibilities across multi-stage approval, and the implementing CoC model describes the stage information. Use those provisions and the applicable authority guidance when deciding the actual certificate content.