Confidential Business Information

This final rule addresses the confidentiality of certain information that manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment submit to NHTSA pursuant to the early warning reporting (EWR) rule. The agency is establishing class determinations that certain categories of EWR information are confidential, based on Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). These categories of EWR data are production numbers (other than for light vehicles), the numbers of consumer complaints, the numbers of warranty claims (warranty adjustments in the tire industry), the numbers of field reports, copies of field reports and common green tire identifier information. In addition, based on the privacy interests protected by FOIA Exemption 6, the rule includes a class determination encompassing the last six (6) characters of the vehicle identification numbers (VINs) which are reported in certain EWR submissions involving deaths and injuries. This final rule also clarifies the agency's general requirements regarding confidentiality markings in submissions in electronic media.