Background and developments of ISO/TS16949

In order to coordinate the international automotive quality system specifications, the world's major automobile manufacturers and associations established a special organization in 1996 , called the International Automotive Task Force (IATF) . IATF members include the International Organization for Standardization Quality Management and Quality Assurance Technical Committee (ISO/TC176) , the Italian Automobile Industry Association (ANFIA) , the French Automobile Manufacturers Committee (CCFA ) and the Automotive Equipment Industry Federation (FIEV) , the German Automobile Industry Association (VDA) , and automobile manufacturers such as BMW , Daimler Chrysler , Fiat , Ford , General Motors , Renault and Volkswagen .

IATF conducts audits on three European standards : VDA6.1 ( Germany ) , AVSQ94 ( Italy ) , EAQF ( France ) and QS-9000 ( North America ) . In order to coordinate with ISO9001 : 2000 , ISO/TS16949:2002 was developed under the approval of ISO/TC176 .

March 1 , 2002 ​ ​ ISO and IATF announced the international automotive quality technical specification ISO/TS16949:2002 . This technical specification applies to the entire automotive industry supply chain for parts and service parts, including vehicle manufacturers. The 2002 version of ISO/TS16949 has come into effect and certification work has been launched.

On April 24 , 2002 , Ford, GM and Chrysler, the three largest automakers, held a press conference in Detroit, Michigan, USA, announcing that they would adopt a unified quality system standard for suppliers, which is ISO /TS16949 . If suppliers do not obtain ISO/TS16949 certification, it will also mean the loss of their status as One for Supplier qualifications.

Currently, French car manufacturers Citroen , Peugeot , Renault and Japanese Nissan have mandatory requirements for their suppliers to obtain ISO/TS16949 certification.