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Motor Vehicle Categories: basic definitions
For the purpose of EU legislation, motor vehicles are grouped by categories.
The definitions
below are only intended to give an overview of different categories, without mentioning all detail. The sources are
two directives of the European Parliament and of the Council
(2002/24/EC
of 18 March 2002 and
2007/46/EC
of 5 September 2007 respectively). In addition, the EU legislation on driving licences
(directive 2006/126/EC
of 20 December 2006) provides for a splitting of some categories of vehicles.
| Category L | Mopeds, Motorcycles, Motor Tricycles and Quadricycles |
| Category M | Motor vehicles having at least four wheels and for the carriage of passengers |
| Category N | Power-driven vehicles having at least four wheels and for the carriage of goods |
| Category O | Trailers (including semitrailers) |
| Category L - Mopeds, Motorcycles, Motor Tricycles and Quadricycles | |
|---|---|
| Mopeds1 | |
| L1e |
Two-wheel vehicles with a maximum design speed of not more than 45 km/h and characterised by an engine whose:
|
| L2e |
Three-wheel vehicles with a maximum design speed of not more than 45 km/h and characterised by an engine whose:
|
| 1 As of 19 January 2013, mopeds will be subject to driving licence category AM | |
| Motorcycles2 | |
| L3e |
Two-wheel vehicles without a sidecar fitted with an engine having a cylinder capacity of more than 50 cm3 if of the internal combustion type and/or having a maximum design speed of more than 45 km/h |
| L4e |
Two-wheel vehicles with a sidecar fitted with an engine having a cylinder capacity of more than 50 cm3 if of the internal combustion type and/or having a maximum design speed of more than 45 km/h |
| 2 As of 19 January 2013, motorcycles will be subject to 3 categories of driving licence: A1 (max. 125 cm³, 11 kW & 0.1 kW/kg), A2 (max. 35 kW & 0.2 kW/kg) [indicative 125-500 cm³], and A (other motorcycles) | |
| Motor tricycles | |
| L5e | Vehicles with three symmetrically arranged wheels fitted with an engine having a cylinder capacity of more than 50 cm3 if of the internal combustion type and/or a maximum design speed of more than 45 km/h |
| Quadricycles motor vehicles with four wheels having the following characteristics | |
| L6e |
Quadricycles whose unladen mass is not more than 350 kg, not including the mass of the batteries in case
of electric vehicles, whose maximum design speed is not more than 45 km/h, and
|
| L7e | Quadricycles other than those referred to in category L6e, whose unladen mass is not more than 400 kg (550 kg for vehicles intended for carrying goods), not including the mass of batteries in the case of electric vehicles, and whose maximum net engine power does not exceed 15 kW. These vehicles shall be considered to be motor tricycles and shall fulfil the technical requirements applicable to motor tricycles of category L5e unless specified differently. |
| Category M - Motor vehicles having at least four wheels and for the carriage of passengers | |
|---|---|
| M1 | Vehicles for the carriage of passengers and comprising not more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat |
| M2 | Vehicles for the carriage of passengers, comprising more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat, and having a maximum mass not exceeding 5 tonnes |
| M3 | Vehicles for the carriage of passengers, comprising more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat, and having a maximum mass exceeding 5 tonnes |
| Category N - Power-driven vehicles having at least four wheels and for the carriage of goods | |
|---|---|
| N1 | Vehicles for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass not exceeding 3.5 tonnes |
| N2 | Vehicles for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass exceeding 3.5 tonnes but not exceeding 12 tonnes |
| N3 | Vehicles for the carriage of goods and having a maximum mass exceeding 12 tonnes |
| Category O - Trailers (including semitrailers) | |
|---|---|
| O1 | Trailers with a maximum mass not exceeding 0.75 tonnes |
| O2 | Trailers with a maximum mass exceeding 0.75 tonnes, but not exceeding 3.5 tonnes |
| O3 | Trailers with a maximum mass exceeding 3.5 tonnes, but not exceeding 10 tonnes |
| O4 | Trailers with a maximum mass exceeding 10 tonnes |
