Internal market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Commission report to EP and Council on the operation of the system of access to vehicle repair and maintenance information

Legal base Article 9 of Regulation 715/2007 "[… ] the Commission shall present to the European Parliament and to the Council a report on the operation of the system of access to vehicle Repair and Maintenance Information, with particular consideration being given to the effect on competition and the operation of the internal market and the environmental benefits."

Report Structure/Key Elements Compliance with specific obligations – OEMs Impact on competitiveness and the internal market Repairers Parts distributers and wholesalers Tool manufacturers Publishers of technical information Enforcement and compliance Impact on safety and environment Conclusions

Compliance with specific obligations - OEMs – Key findings OEMs have invested significant effort into their RMI websites and compliance with most of the requirements that are explicitly set out in the Regulations is high In some cases, independent operators have had difficulties in accessing information – yet most of the OEMs interviewed firmly believe they fully comply with the requirements of the Regulations

Impact on competitiveness and the internal market – Independent Operators– Key findings Repairers Investments in tools/training required to meet the demands of more complex/modern vehicles are significant Rarely economically viable for repairers to purchase single-brand solutions Mainly rely on access to RMI through third-party providers SMEs are socially and economically important, yet they tend to struggle with the costs of the tools and training required to service modern vehicles, and with aggressive promotional pricing strategies for standardised products. Traditional standalone repairers are expected to be significantly affected Reflected in the increasing number of independent garages joining franchise networks One of the principal reasons for joining is to obtain access to technical information from vehicle manufacturers, alongside access to training and marketing

Impact on competitiveness and the internal market – Independent Operators– Key findings Parts distributors and wholesalers Access to unequivocal parts identification information is the main issue affecting parts distributors and wholesalers Complex topic, and litigation on this aspect has been ongoing for several years Tool manufacturers Even though they are aware of their rights under the Euro 5 Regulation, tool manufacturers continue to prefer reverse engineering over directly accessing the technical information they require from OEMs, despite the drawbacks of reverse engineering Publishers of technical information Direct access to OEM data is the only way that data republishers can obtain all of the relevant information they need Currently there is great diversity in the fee structures of different OEM Republishers must negotiate with each OEM individually

Impact on safety and the environment Access to RMI may in some cases be useful to identify certain malfunctions resulting in additional vehicle emissions (particularly for OEM-specific malfunction codes) As a result, repairs may possibly be performed quicker and therefore at lower costs Effects of access to RMI on overall emissions are expected to be very limited as (almost) all malfunctions related to emission control are signalled by the OBD system Finally, a direct link between access to RMI and improvements in environment and safety issues is difficult to quantify due to a paucity of independent data, and the real-world impact will not be evident for several years

Conclusions for a revised framework Regulation on Type-approval Regulation 715/2007 is the first comprehensive and systematic piece of legislation at EU level on access to vehicle repair and maintenance. There is therefore room for improvement in the light of the experience of almost a decade in its implementation As regards the updating of the existing legislation to technical progress, the issue of telematics appears to be an emerging challenge, which should be addressed in future EU legislation

Next Steps Report on RMI Once finalised, the draft report will be submitted for consultation to the Commission services concerned The Commission report on the operation of the system of access to vehicle repair and maintenance information will be approved by the College by written procedure and then transmitted to Parliament and Council

Additional actions: SERMI The Commission services are ready to implement the SERMI scheme as soon as it is finalised and obtains the validation of ENAC The references to the CEN/CENELEC standards on access to RMI ISO (parts 1 to 3) will also be included in EU legislation These amendments will be part of the upcoming revision on evaporative emissions of Commission Regulation 692/2008/EC