‘Give us your secrets’

THE motor vehicle aftermarket repair industry has sparked a confrontation with car-makers by launching a campaign designed to snare a greater proportion of the $8 billion Australian motorists spend each year on repairing and maintaining their cars.

The peak body for independent parts suppliers, the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association, claims many manufacturers are not granting access to their technical manuals, update bulletins, software patches and equipment.

But the car-makers are anxious to protect the investment of billions of dollars they make in their products and also protect the dealer networks which sell and support their products.

The campaign essentially pits the car-makers’ franchised dealer networks, which survive mainly on their service department income, against the growing number of chain and independent service providers.

AAAA executive director Stuart Charity said the technology field was not level, and in future customers would have less choice about who can do their repairs and what parts were used.

He said he was not expecting resistance from the car-makers based on the claim that manuals, software and other items were proprietary intellectual property.

“According to the Designs Act, components that are part of a larger system cannot be registered as IP (intellectual property),” he said when launching the Choice of Repairer campaign.

“The problem we have is not access to IP per se. It’s more about gaining access to the diagnostic data and equipment, the technical and service bulletins,” he said.

“Basically we want the same access that car companies give their dealer networks.” Mr Charity said that information may have to come at a cost, but as long as it was reasonable, that would be acceptable.

The danger was that, with technology advancing rapidly, cars would not be able to be serviced by independent operators such as Ultra-Tune, Midas or the 1250 other members of the AAAA.

“We could end up with a technology monopoly, and that would not be good for the motorist,” he said.

Left: FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar.

While the AAAA tried to play down the IP issue, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) indicated that IP would be a major plank in the defence it would mount against the AAAA plan.

“You wouldn’t expect KFC to hand over its recipe of secret herbs and spices,” said the chamber’s chief executive, Andrew McKellar.

“Under this AAAA plan it seems to be the case that the car-makers, which have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the development of a new model, are just expected to hand over very detailed technical information about the specifications of those vehicles.” Mr Charity acknowledged there was a lot of IP in car designs, but he pointed out it was not necessarily owned by the car-makers.

“Ironically, a lot of IP is developed on behalf of the OEMs (original manufacturers) by the component suppliers, and many of them are supporting us on this issue.” Mr Charity said Robert Bosch Australia, Hella Australia and Continental/Siemens VDO were some of the 400 Australian component-makers that were members of the AAAA.

The problem for AAAA service providers is there is no legal requirement for vehicle manufacturers and importers to make technical and diagnostic information available.

Many car-makers jealously guard proprietary data and actively encourage the use of genuine spare parts in a bid to keep servicing and maintenance within their groups of franchised dealers.

“At present some vehicle manufacturers make it easy for independent aftermarket businesses to access vital technical manuals, update bulletins, software patches and equipment,” Mr Charity said. “Many do not.” Mr Charity said the issue was especially relevant in regional centres, when a franchised dealer or repairer might not be within easy reach, and when vehicles age past their statutory warranty period.

The AAAA has launched the Choice of Repairer campaign to promote choice and competition in the vehicle repair, servicing and parts sectors, but Mr Charity knows he is in for a difficult time.

“It is estimated that, over a 10 year period, a vehicle will require service and repairs approximately equal to one and a half times the original purchase price,” Mr Charity said.

“Each year, Australia’s 15 million vehicle owners spend about $8 billion on parts and services.

“Ensuring that owners can access a competitive price for their vehicle parts and services can make the difference between affordable and unaffordable motoring.” Mr McKellar said that, even if independent service providers had access to all the information required, that did not mean the service would be as good as at a franchised dealer.

“When you go to an authorised service provider, you are getting a whole lot more than you would from someone who just has access to the technical information and repair data,” he said.

“What you are accessing in those circumstances is someone who has all of that information but, in addition to that, you know that they are providing genuine parts.

“Moreover, you know they have undertaken the investment in the technology, the equipment and the training of their staff to ensure they have the requisite skills to service your particular vehicle.

“You are not going to a jack of all trades who services 20 or 30 different brands.” Mr McKellar said he also thought the AAAA campaign was the result of the increased warranty offerings many of the vehicle manufacturers were now providing.

“One of the issues in the past has been that some of the warranty claims put forward by a number of independent service providers have been subject to challenge,” he said.

“It might be that some of these independents are feeling the competitive pinch because manufacturers are increasingly offering more and more generous warranty provisions to their customers.” Mr Charity said he was concerned about a trend among franchised car dealers to offer car buyers extended warranties. He said these often did not offer any more protection than the statutory warranty provided by all car-makers, but served to tie up the customer for a protracted period.

“Chris Bowen, the federal consumer affairs minister, has announced a review into warranties to look at the interaction between extended warranties and statutory warranties, lemon laws and a whole range of things,” he said.

“His department has indicated they are concerned about the interaction of extended warranties and whether the consumer knows what they are getting under an extended warranty.”