EU Commission ensures better (price) competition and more service and repair options for motorists
Vehicle manufacturers have to make spare part identification data generally available
Brussels 16/06/11. The European Commission today amended the ‘Euro 5’emissions regulation by passing a new law that regulates the access to the electronic spare parts identification data by those market participants not associated with a vehicle manufacturer’s network. These include, for example, multi-brand repair shops, independent parts wholesalers, roadside rescue patrols, manufacturers of diagnostic tools but also parts suppliers. On a Europe-wide basis, these are about 885,000 businesses with about 4.6m employees! The new law obligates the vehicle manufacturers to release electronic data that allow an exact identification of car spare parts. Given the every growing complexity of modern vehicles and the growing parts variety and diversity even within one series, independent aftermarket operators found it increasingly difficult to carry out their business, i.e. to produce and sell parts and offer other services. There was the threat of a monopoly on the part of the vehicle manufacturers and thus of higher prices to be paid by Europe’s motorists.
To prevent a market foreclosure by using a monopoly on information, the European Commission has tackled the problem and responded to it.
More competition is good news for motorists!
By amending ‘Euro 5’, the EU Commission has strengthened two major European ideas:
- It promotes fair competition in the car repair market since now all operators are entitled to the required data and thus have the same information that helps them access the market on the same footing.
- The right to affordable mobility enshrined in the EU’s principles is also strengthened since an intensive competition in the repair market and the price competition this entails has a positive impact upon consumers’ disposable budgets.
So this is a decision taken in Brussels that at first glance motorists may find rather arcane but nonetheless has a huge impact as soon as their car has to be repaired. The repairer can buy spare parts either from the car manufacturers or – and of the same quality – in the independent aftermarket. This freedom of choice is also supported by the EU by law. Motorists can have repairs and servicing done in independent repair shops without thereby losing the manufacturer’s warranty.
Michel Vilatte, President of the European federation of the independent aftermarket FIGIEFA, welcomes the EU Commission’s decision: "This is a good day for Europe’s motorists! This decision lays the basis for independent aftermarket providers continuing to be a real alternative to the vehicle manufacturers’ service networks.”However, the FIGIEFA president is also cautious: “The new law is a step in the right direction. Nonetheless, we ask the European Commission to accompany its implementation carefully in order to make sure that vehicle manufacturers will respect their obligations.“ And he adds: “Only if the independent aftermarket will get the information in a useable electronically processable form will this also serve its purpose.”
Backdrop: A clear vehicle and spare part identification – practical implications
Cars have become “computers on wheels”, and with computers, as we all know, the rub lies in the deep inside. You can no longer “see” what spare parts are supposed to do. It thus requires a modern spare part identification method based upon a vehicle’s “genetic code”, the vehicle identification number (VIN).
Vehicle manufacturers publish spare parts catalogues with their parts numbers, known as OE numbers, which are linked to the vehicle by means of its unique VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). Should a spare part be required for a specific vehicle, all you have to do is click a button on the computer and the right spare part will be found quickly and easily - but only the (usually more expensive) part directly from the vehicle manufacturer. Significantly, the vehicle manufacturers speak of order catalogues.
Other suppliers do not have access to the VIN, so they cannot uniquely identify the vehicle type and its various components, thus making it impossible to unequivocally identify the necessary spare parts. Vehicle manufacturers continue to withhold information on the relationship between VIN and corresponding parts. Independent suppliers have to make an ever greater effort just to identify parts accurately. Increasingly complex equipment options and electronic systems are making this task all the more difficult. Thus far, independent providers have to try to make use of the vehicle manufacturers‘ general information and employ a generic search method to unequivocally identify a spare part that would fit the car in question 100 per cent. This is a severe handicap for the entire independent aftermarket! The consequences are negative– the sheer possibility to compete on the market is jeopardised. Independent suppliers have to make an ever greater effort just to identify parts accurately. Increasingly complex model variants, equipment options and electronic systems are making this task all the more difficult. And which workshop would readily accept a difficult, time consuming search for a spare part from an independent supplier if the part is practically served up "on a silver platter" by the vehicle manufacturer - even if comes at a higher cost?
This is such a grave distortion of competition that the European lawmakers have seen a market monopoly on the part of the vehicle manufacturers on the horizon.
The new law provides for the vehicle manufacturers having to pass on the relationship between the VIN and the OE spare part numbers in order to facilitate a clear identification of spare parts that can also be used in the independent aftermarket.
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For further information and a video, please visit www.yes2euro5.eu.
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