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THE draft Right2Repair (R2R) guidelines currently being finalised by the Competition Commission were always bound to provoke opposition from vested interests, citing issues varying from safety concerns to job losses.
Last week, Mark Dommisse, national chairperson of the National Automobile Dealers’ Association
(NADA) said the guidelines “have serious negative consequences, not just for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and dealers, but for consumers and our nation’s road safety initiatives”.
(NADA) said the guidelines “have serious negative consequences, not just for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and dealers, but for consumers and our nation’s road safety initiatives”.
Dommisse said NADA strongly believes that Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and importers have the right to determine the standards of those that service their products in much the same way that Airbus and other aircraft OEMs do with aircraft, and the strict maintenance thereof.
In response, chair of R2R South Africa Gunther Schmitz said that although there are a number of areas different stakeholders may differ on, safety and quality standards are not one. “We all agree quality workmanship, quality parts and safety of the consumer remain the number one priority,” Schmitz said.
“We feel these ‘scare’ messages from OEMs are nothing more than fear mongering detracting from the real issue of competition.
“Competition is good for the consumer and is empowering — the right to choose being a fundamental human right.”
Schmitz said arguments about safety are also misleading when one considers automobile manufacturers regularly recall vehicles due to safety defects, and dealerships still sell cars in South Africa that don’t fulfil the United Nations ECE regulations on passive safety.
“This makes the argument on safety rather disingenuous,” said Schmitz.
“It makes sense that independent workshops should be replacing wear-and-tear and service items during the warranty period.
“Safety-related wear items are brake pads and tyres and fall under ECE R 13 and ECE R 30, which is applicable in South Africa.
“Everything else falls under the warranty of the OEM and according to the current proposed code warranty repairs will be carried out at the OEM-appointed service provider.
“Manufacturers are trying to lock us out of our own choices regarding servicing and repairs.
“They argue they want to protect their intellectual property, but the precedent in the EU and U.S. with the strictest enforcement of intellectual property laws, could show that these are not affected. The manufacturers are also arguing that not sharing resources is common practice in other sectors such as aircraft manufacturers and mobile phones, computers and accessories.
“In reality, this is not the case. For instance, the service and maintenance of aircraft is governed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation — not by the manufacturer.
“Airbus and Boeing don’t even make it into the top 10 aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul providers. So the principle of R2R has long been applied in civil aviation, for one,” he said.
He stressed vehicle owners must be given the option to fix their trucks or cars or tractors in a competitive market, adding this would go a long way to breaking up economic concentration — South Africa being one of the most unequal societies in the world.
He said no legislation was being drafted in South Africa that would in any way effect existing regulation around road safety or laws protecting the consumer. “Rather the Competition Commission guidelines recognise that if a consumer bought a car he or she owns it and has the right to choose a repairer,” Schmitz said. On a final note he pointed out that in Europe and the U.S. the roadworthiness of vehicles is much higher than South Africa, even though the principles of R2R have been introduced decades ago.
“We feel that the reality locally is that owners with older cars may have neglected the maintenance of their vehicles because of financial constraints.
“R2R is going to reduce the cost of parts thereby helping owners maintain their vehicles and access to technical information, training and tools will only have a positive influence on safety,” he said.
