Car production – Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels
(BRUSSELS) – The European Commission prolonged the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation for five years Monday, at the same time updating the Supplementary Guidelines for the sector.
The revised guidelines will help companies in the car sector assess the compatibility of their vertical agreements with EU competition rules, while ensuring that aftermarket operators, including garages, continue to have access to vehicle-generated data necessary for repair and maintenance.
The Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (MVBER), due to expire on 31 May, will now be extended until 31 May 2028. This is to allow the Commission to ‘react in a timely manner’ to possible market changes such as those resulting from vehicle digitalisation, electrification and new mobility patterns.
The updated Supplementary Guidelines:
- Clarify that data generated by vehicle sensors may be an essential input for the provision of repair and maintenance services. Therefore, to comply with Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’), authorised and independent repairers should have access to such data on an equal footing. The existing principles for the provision of technical information, tools and training necessary for the repair and maintenance services have been extended to explicitly cover vehicle-generated data.
- Specify that vehicle suppliers must apply the proportionality principle when considering whether to withhold inputs, such as vehicle-generated data, on the basis of potential cybersecurity concerns.
- Warn that Article 102 TFEU may be applicable where a supplier unilaterally withholds from independent operators an essential input, such as vehicle-generated data.
Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (‘MVBER’)
