On Friday 28 May, the European Commission published its evaluation report and working document recommending an update of certain provisions of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation.
Overall, the competitive environment in the automotive markets has not witnessed many changes since 2010. “However, the sector is currently under intense pressure to adapt, due in particular to three factors”, according to the report. The first factor is technological development. The second is the constant pressure to reduce emissions and switch to more environmentally friendly fuels and propulsion systems. Thirdly, the sector needs to ready itself for the post-Covid-19 world and the likelihood that mobility patterns will change.
The report shows that: - competition in the passenger car sector is intense, however less so for light commercial vehicles, trucks and buses; - many authorised repairers hold considerable power within the local market and it would therefore not be prudent to raise the market share threshold set by the regulation; - the markets for car parts appear to present rigidities that (indirectly) reduce end customer choice.
On the whole, the Commission believes that the current regulation has proved to be appropriate and adapted to the current circumstances.
Link to documents: https://bit.ly/3c0xuds (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)