UTAC Strengthens its strategic role in the commissioning of Automated Road Transport Systems in France

Automated Road Transport Systems (ARTS) represent a major step forward for the mobility of tomorrow. Deployed on predefined routes or traffic zones, they rely on a set of operating, maintenance, and upkeep rules designed to guarantee an automated road transport service, public or private, for the movement of people or goods.

To ensure their safe commissioning on public roads, these systems must undergo assessments and audits conducted by Accredited Qualified Bodies (AQBs). In this context, UTAC confirms its pioneering role and leading position.

UTAC, the First AQB Accredited for ARTs, Expands its Scope of Intervention

As the first company to obtain AQB accreditation for ARTs in France, UTAC reached a new strategic milestone at the end of 2025. The STRMTG (Technical Service for Cableways and Guided Transport), attached to the Ministry of Transport, has granted UTAC two new accreditations covering the following technical areas:

• Cybersecurity (Technical Area No. 3)

• Overall Assessment (Technical Area No. 7)

These new accreditations complement those already obtained for the operational safety of on-board systems (Technical Area No. 1) and the road handling safety of vehicles (Technical Area No. 5).

They confirm UTAC's expertise and its ongoing commitment to the safety and regulatory compliance of automated road transport systems.

A key milestone for the Automated Road Transport System (ART) sector in France

The accreditation for Technical Area No. 7 – Overall Assessment – ​​marks a major step forward for the entire sector. Thanks to UTAC's accreditation, all the technical areas required for ARTS are now covered in France, enabling concrete progress towards the operational deployment of these new mobility services.

As such, UTAC is currently the only accredited organization for area 7. UTAC will therefore be responsible for ensuring coordination with other Accredited Qualified Bodies during the overall assessments of ARTS, a central role in ensuring the consistency and robustness of the assessment processes.

A unique position in a rapidly emerging market

This positioning is the result of work undertaken since 2021 by the UTAC teams, aimed at defining the technical and regulatory framework necessary for the application of legislation relating to ARTS. After submitting the accreditation application in the summer of 2023, UTAC conducted in-depth discussions with the STRMTG until these new validations were obtained.

UTAC's dual expertise, as both a Notified Technical Service for the type approval of automated driving systems in Europe and an Approved Qualified Body, makes it a key player in supporting manufacturers, system designers, and mobility operators in their regulatory compliance and automated system safety initiatives.

While no ARTS is yet commercially deployed on a large scale in France, several projects are currently in the experimental phase. Thanks to its accreditations, UTAC is positioned at the forefront of a market expected to experience continuous growth until 2035.