Amendments to Guidelines for Competition in Automotive Aftermarket in the Offing
04 Apr 2024
Amendments to Guidelines for Competition in the South African Automotive Aftermarket are in the offing.
The trade, industry and competition department published the draft amendments in Government Gazette 50391 for comment in terms of the Competition Act of 1998.
The Guidelines, aimed at addressing constraints to competition in the automotive aftermarket industry, were first published in 2021.
The Guidelines, drawn up by the Competition Commission, also seek to promote compliance with the “spirit, intent and objectives of the Act by encouraging relevant stakeholders to adopt and promote principles of effective competition regulation for a growing and inclusive economy”.
The automotive aftermarket industry focuses on the after-sale market including motor vehicle spare parts, tools and components and maintenance and repair services sold to motorists following the sale of a motor vehicle.
The aftermarket includes companies involved in the manufacturing (original equipment manufacturers), distribution, retail, service and repairs of motor vehicles.
The Guidelines pertain to all motor vehicles traded in and registered within South Africa.
Specific objectives include lowering barriers to entry, increasing consumer choice and facilitating competition and competitive pricing for new motor vehicles, spare parts and value-added products and increasing transparency and facilitating consumer choice in the aftermarket.
The Guidelines focus on, inter alia, in-warranty service, maintenance and repairs by ISPs; appointment of motor-body repairers by OEMs; appointment of service providers and allocation of work by insurers; preventing anti-competitive information sharing by multi-brand dealerships; fitment and access to spare parts; the bundled sale of motor vehicles with value added products; access to technical information; and OEM-training for ISPs and dispute resolution.
The Guidelines provide “practical guidance for the automotive aftermarkets industry, intended to promote inclusion and to encourage competition through greater participation of small businesses as well as historically disadvantaged groups”.
Amendments are proposed to Section 6 – appointment of motor-body repairers by OEMs; Section 7 – appointment of service providers and allocation of work by insurers; Section 9 – preventing anti-competitive information sharing by multi-brand dealerships; Section 11 – the bundled sale of motor vehicles with value added products; and Section 12 – access to technical information and OEM-training for ISPs.
Comments are invited within 30 business days from the date of publication.
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See also:
- Competition Commission draws up public interest guidelines on merger control
- Competition Appeal Court decision greenlights Commission’s prosecution of Sasol Gas
- Safeguarding consumer rights: Defective vehicle purchases
- Can a motor vehicle under warranty now be serviced by anyone?
