The European Commission is determined to make sure automakers provide technical repair data to independent garages, Brussels’ auto industry regulator Paolo Cesarini told Automotive News Europe.
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“We will do the job we have to do in this area,” said Cesarini, who heads the automotive section of the EC’s competition directorate.
Brussels is investigating whether Toyota, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and Fiat have fully conformed to commission regulations that require automakers provide technical repair data to independent garages.
Cesarini criticised automakers’ “poor compliance” with the rules at a meeting for German dealers and repairers on the Commission’s block exemption regime.
“This is a critical issue for the industry,” said Cesarini. He warned that the EC would clamp down on companies that misuse their market dominance to hinder competition. “It is our most serious concern. We will pursue this with all the resources at our disposal.”
Under European law companies interfering with free trade can be fined up to 10% of their worldwide annual revenue.
As part of its new block exemption rules introduced October 1, 2003, the Commission ordered automakers to pass on technical information about their vehicles to independent garages. The goal was to encourage more competition in the repairs sector, thus reducing prices for the consumer.
Manufacturers had fought to prevent the change since repairs are highly profitable for both automakers and their authorised workshops.
Toyota, GM, Fiat and DC subsidiary Mercedes-Benz were criticized for overcharging for technical information in a report from Aachen University’s Institut fŸr Kraftfahrwesen (IKA) commissioned by Brussels and published last October. GM was criticised for its lack of co-operation with manufacturers of repair tools.
