Car spare parts compromise under attack

Date: 06/03/1997

By Simon Coss

CRITICS claim a plan by the Dutch presidency to break the current deadlock over rules for the sale of spare parts for cars will effectively destroy the single market in this multi-million ecu sector.

It is thought that The Hague will suggest deleting a so-called 'repairs clause' - which would allow makers of spare parts to manufacture and sell certain 'visible' car components - from a proposed directive on the protection of industrial designs at a meeting of internal market ministers next week.

The Dutch are likely to suggest instead that ministers adopt a 'free-for-all' approach, allowing each member state to set its own rules for the sale of car parts. Officials see this as a temporary measure aimed at preserving the status quo for car parts while allowing the rest of the designs directive to be agreed.

Currently, France is the only country which effectively obliges motorists to buy spare parts from car manufacturers.

Critics claim that the Dutch approach, far from leaving things unchanged, would actually make them much worse. If member states did not pass specific legislation to allow spare parts manufacturers to sell the disputed components, they would not be allowed to do so.

The European Commission is vehemently opposed to the Dutch approach. When the idea was first floated after last November's ministerial meeting, Internal Market Commissioner Mario Monti said that the Commission could never agree to something which was so clearly against citizens' interests.

The spare parts industry is equally adamant that the Dutch are going down the wrong road.

“This would be a seriously regressive piece of legislation which would effectively close down the single market in this area. I estimate that around 75&percent; of the market will be affected,” said Richard Hughes of the European Campaign for the Freedom of the Automotive Parts and Repair Market (ECAR).

The current row concerns only visible spare parts, such as wing mirrors, body panels or radiator grilles. There is no argument over the status of internal components such as oil filters or spark plugs.

Car builders argue they have spent millions of ecu developing distinctive body parts for their vehicles and do not see why other companies should benefit from their investment. But spare parts makers counter that as the components in question are 'vehicle specific' - you cannot replace a wing panel from a Mercedes with one from a Renault - the carmakers are effectively asking for private monopolies.

Pressure from immensely powerful car lobbies - notably in France, Germany and Italy - has led to the current impasse, which the Dutch hope to break with their compromise proposal.

Under the terms of the proposed directive, the rules on the sale of spare parts would have to be reassessed five years after they came into force.

But Hughes feels that by this time, it could be too late. “By the time the legislative process is over we are talking about a reassessment seven or eight years from now. Many of the smaller spare parts manufacturers simply will not be in business any more. They will have been legislated out of existence,” he said.

If ministers endorse the Dutch approach next week, ECAR will pin its hopes on the European Parliament - next in line to scrutinise the proposed directive - taking up its fight. MEPs have already made it clear they favour some sort of repairs clause. “There are many consumers looking to the Parliament for support on this,” said Hughes.