Update on Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (MVBER)
From its headquarters in Brussels, the European federation of the automotive aftermarket distributors, Figiefa, monitors and accompanies the development of European and International legislation affecting the automotive aftermarket. Figiefa represents the interests of its members towards European and international institutions. In a series of articles in this newsletter, Figiefa and ADI, who is assisting Figiefa in various dedicated working groups, intend to give you an executive overview of key topics that are bound to affect tomorrow’s IAM playing field. In this editon: the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation.
Executive summary
Background
Mid-January 2022, the European Commission has announced its intention to extend the “core legislation”, the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (MVBER) itself “as is” by five years, and to update its Supplementary Guidelines to reflect technological developments. FIGIEFA therefore welcomes in principle the European Commission’s announcement, which tends to indicate that the sector specific regime will be maintained, hence in any case not be abandoned, which is already a very positive signal, compared to the option of abandoning the MVBER. FIGIEFA will suggest proposals for improvements needed in view of recent technical and market developments.
The sector-specific competition framework consists of Motor Vehicle Block Exemption 461/2010 and a set of Supplementary Guidelines, both of which date from 2010 and were set to expire in 2023. The framework helps to ensure access to spare parts and technical information, by outlawing restrictive covenants between vehicle manufacturers and their authorised repairers or OE parts manufacturers. The framework includes essential guidance on warranties, dual branding and the ability of independent wholesalers to sell original/matching quality parts to authorised repairers. Without these rules, vehicle manufacturers could also impose greater restrictions on the ability of OE parts manufacturers to sell their products as spare parts to the entire aftermarket. The European Commission’s Evaluation Report of May 2021 cites market
