Existing MVBER will likely be prolonged
April 2022
While a prolongation of the current regulation by the European Commission would be good news, there is still a long way to go to ensure the MVBER is maintaining fair competition in the automotive aftermarket.
End-user status is crucial for leasing and rental
Leaseurope, together with various other stakeholders, have been providing feedback to the European Commission regarding the block exemption rules in competition policy for motor vehicles (MVBER), which expire on 31 May 2023. Whilst the MVBER has served a useful purpose in attempting to maintain fair competition in the aftermarket, there are still many issues to be addressed and the competitive position of independent leasing and rental companies is increasingly being eroded in recent years, which underlines the need to future-proof the MVBER. For leasing and rental companies, their end user status is the backbone for effective functioning and a prerequisite for competition in this market, however numerous vehicle suppliers have refused to acknowledge this status. Having this issue currently only addressed in the related guidelines is insufficient, it needs to be addressed directly in the regulatory framework.
Leaseurope calls for the following to be addressed in the MVBER revision:
- Discrimination between end-users by vehicle manufacturers
- Vehicle manufacturers applying registration and use requirements
- Vehicle manufacturers requiring retention periods for vehicles that limit intra-group sales
- Purchasers of vehicles being obliged by vehicle manufacturers to provide end customer names
- Leasing and rental companies, as well as other stakeholders in the motor vehicle aftermarket, being excluded from having fair access to in-vehicle data
Regulators choosing to prolong the existing regime
Following our request, the European Commission is likely to propose prolonging the duration of the existing MVBER regime for another 5-year period (i.e. until 31 May 2028). As next steps, the Commission plans to introduce updates to the Supplementary Guidelines to reflect developments in the automotive industry since 2010. They will be consulting stakeholders on the draft rules in the second quarter of 2022, and the final adoption is foreseen in the second quarter of 2023. Whilst Leaseurope is pleased the Commission acknowledges a need to prolong the MVBER regime, we will continue to argue for a significantly updated regime, both in the regulation itself, as well as updated guidelines.