The motor vehicle sector is going through a major change over the next years fueled by new technologies including the switch to new drive-train technology, new market entrants with innovative approaches to the market and in-vehicle generated data as a new source for services.

The Motor Vehicle Block Exemption guarantees that vehicles can be serviced outside of dealer networks. The rules have been in place since 2002 and was last revised in 2010.

MVBER has so far benefited the consumers by helping independent operators to exercise competitive pressures on vehicle manufacturers and their aftermarket networks. The European Commission has recognized that an update was necessary to reflect the importance that access to vehicle-generated data was likely to have as a factor of competition.

To make its points clear, LKQ Europe conducted a survey across 11 countries with independent workshops resulting in 1720 replies which shows that restrictions by vehicle manufacturers, misinformation on warranties, bundling of products and services, restrictions on access to the vehicle and its data and the increase in the number of captive parts has grown substantially. These issues require targeted legislation and enforcement.

LKQ Europe believes that a refreshed, fit for purpose solution is necessary and can be achieved by introducing more clear definitions both to MVBER and supplementary guidelines as well as redefining what are the essential inputs for repair and maintenance services.

You can download LKQ Europe response to public consultation on the MVBER on top of this page.

The document includes:

o     Support for the renewal of the MVBER for a period of at least 5 years.

o     Support for the need for an additional evaluation in due time.

o     Concrete proposals on captive parts, QR-codes and activation codes, repair and maintenance information, vehicle generated data, pricing, warranty, electrification, tooling and enforcement.