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Technical and Competition Committees update – March 2022

31/03/2022

The Technical and Competition Committees continue to make progress on a number of cases. OEM Bulletins were released in the last months and on several cases a complaint has been filed to the national type approval authority.

The Committees have also been in contact with the European Commission’s DG GROW. The interaction has been encouraging. In their response they highlighted that article 61 of Regulation (EU) 2018/858 already gives a right to independent operators to obtain access to the relevant repair and maintenance information which comprises the technical specifications with regard to spare parts and products to be used for maintenance. This includes access to information on technical specifications of the lubricants to be produced and used for the maintenance of motor vehicles. This response is a positive and supportive clarification regarding the current regulatory situation which would help the lubricant industry to take even stronger actions in cases where access to technical information is not provided.

The Committees will continue to engage with the European institutions regarding the evaluation of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (MVBER). The Committees are sending a letter to the Commission describing with examples anti-competitive behaviours the lubricant industry faces in the market.