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The Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation

BER update: Awareness of UK aftermarket key to MV-BER renewal

Date: Friday 04 February 2022

Following news that the European Commission is proposing to extend the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulations (MVBER) until 2028, IAAF, through UK AFCAR, is intensifying its lobbying efforts to renew and modernise UK MVBER, in-line with technical and digital enhancements within the modern motor vehicle.

It is clear that the UK Government is behind the level of understanding that exists in Brussels concerning their knowledge of the impact of this technological progress on the UK Aftermarket and the legislative considerations that this requires. The most recent discussions with the UK Government have shown good intent in some areas, but poor levels of understanding and mis-guided considerations in others.

There also appears to be constraints on the Government’s departmental resources, together with their priorities. This is rapidly becoming a critical issue for the UK Aftermarket, both for the time-critical issues of MV-BER, which is set to expire in May 2023, but also for the rapid developments of vehicle technology, cybersecurity and the increasing actions of the vehicle manufacturers to thwart competition in the UK Aftermarket.

The actions to address these issues need to be a ‘top down’ approach and we cannot assume that the UK Government is sufficiently aware of the benefits provided by the independent UK Aftermarket, together with the practical (i.e. technical) details that are required to allow effective implementation of the legislative requirements. These practical details are reaching a more mature level of legislative proposal in Brussels, but in the UK little, if anything, is yet being considered.

Time is of the essence and urgent action is needed to avoid further delays in supporting the UK Government to understand the concerns and needs of the UK Aftermarket and the important role it plays in the UK’s societal and economic position, today and in the future.