Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 29788, Apr. 22, 2024.

(a) General provisions. This section allows a vehicle manufacturer to reclassify certain tractors as vocational tractors. Vocational tractors are treated as vocational vehicles and are exempt from the standards of § 1037.106. Note that references to “tractors” outside of this section mean non-vocational tractors.

(1) This allowance is intended only for vehicles that do not typically operate at highway speeds, or would otherwise not benefit from efficiency improvements designed for line-haul tractors. This allowance is limited to the following vehicle and application types:

(i) Low-roof tractors intended for intra-city pickup and delivery, such as those that deliver bottled beverages to retail stores.

(ii) Tractors intended for off-road operation (including mixed service operation that does not qualify for an exemption under § 1037.631), such as those with reinforced frames and increased ground clearance. This includes drayage tractors.

(iii) Model year 2020 and earlier tractors with a gross combination weight rating (GCWR) at or above 120,000 pounds. Note that Phase 2 tractors meeting the definition of “heavy-haul” in § 1037.801 must be certified to the heavy-haul standards in §§ 1037.106 or 1037.670.

(2) Where we determine that a manufacturer is not applying this allowance in good faith, we may require the manufacturer to obtain preliminary approval before using this allowance.

(b) Requirements. The following requirements apply with respect to tractors reclassified under this section:

(1) The vehicle must fully conform to all requirements applicable to vocational vehicles under this part.

(2) Vehicles reclassified under this section must be certified as a separate vehicle family. However, they remain part of the vocational regulatory subcategory and averaging set that applies for their service class.

(3) You must include the following additional statement on the vehicle's emission control information label under § 1037.135: “THIS VEHICLE WAS CERTIFIED AS A VOCATIONAL TRACTOR UNDER 40 CFR 1037.630.”

(4) You must keep records for three years to document your basis for believing the vehicles will be used as described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. Include in your application for certification a brief description of your basis.

(c) Production limit. No manufacturer may produce more than 21,000 Phase 1 vehicles under this section in any consecutive three model year period. This means you may not exceed 6,000 in a given model year if the combined total for the previous two years was 15,000. The production limit applies with respect to all Class 7 and Class 8 Phase 1 tractors certified or exempted as vocational tractors. No production limit applies for tractors subject to Phase 2 standards.

(d) Off-road exemption. All the provisions of this section apply for vocational tractors exempted under § 1037.631, except as follows:

(1) The vehicles are required to comply with the requirements of § 1037.631 instead of the requirements that would otherwise apply to vocational vehicles. Vehicles complying with the requirements of § 1037.631 and using an engine certified to the standards of 40 CFR part 1036 are deemed to fully conform to all requirements applicable to vocational vehicles under this part.

(2) The vehicles must be labeled as specified under § 1037.631 instead of as specified in paragraph (b)(3) of this section.