Originally Posted by
Koyote
When I bought a Honda hybrid this year, I was told that Honda won't allow their factory hitches to be installed on my model as it doesn't work well with the regenerative braking. That sounds like nonsense, esp since they apparently will allow those hitches to be installed on their hybrids in the EU. At any rate, the dealer installed an aftermarket hitch for my bike rack, and all is well. (But maybe towing a trailer with 500lbs of cargo would be a problem...?)
This has been around on a couple of the automotive / moto forums over the years as well, and the simple version is:
The EU requires brakes on much smaller trailers that the US; so the EU spec allows for a bigger (heavier,) trailer than in the US.
Observation (but no real evidence) that smaller camper trailers seem to be more commonly tandem axle, where in the US they'd have a large single, so tongue loading ratios maybe different (lower) as well
Also, distances and speeds are generally lower (and more tightly controlled) than the US.
TLDR:. EU trailer regulations and conditions make it less demanding of the tow vehicle than in the US, hence, "higher" rating for the same vehicle.