A new inspection requirement for new vehicles will take effect later this year, the federal government announced.

The Economy Ministry (SE) announced an additional verification requirement for most new vehicles that weigh less than 3,857 kilograms.

Called NOM 236, the requirement will take effect in November, according to an SE publication in the government’s official gazette.

All cars registered in Mexico will have to pass an inspection before they have 1,000 kilometers on their odometers.

Among the things to be checked are cars’ bodywork, seatbelts, lights, brakes, wheel alignment, suspension and engine. Any serious problems will have to repaired in order for vehicles to be deemed roadworthy.

The new inspection requirement is in addition to the emissions verification that vehicles also must pass.

Vehicles will have to pass a second NOM 236 inspection four years after the initial one and additional ones every two years after that until they are 10 years old. Inspections will then become annual. “Intensive use” vehicles will face annual inspections from the get-go.

Among the vehicles exempt from the new requirement are those that weigh less than 400 kilograms and those used exclusively in off-road settings.

With reports from ADN40