Dive Brief:
- The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents automakers in the U.S., has reached a right-to-repair agreement with organizations representing independent automotive repair shops, the organizations said Tuesday.
- Automakers will continue to provide independent repair facilities, including auto body shops, with the same technical service information available to dealers, including telematics data. The organizations, including the Automotive Service Association and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists, also agreed to collaborate on education and training related to repair information.
- The agreement may influence state and federal efforts to adopt new automotive right-to-repair laws in the U.S.
Dive Insight:
The right-to-repair movement has gained steam in recent years as businesses, consumers and policymakers have grown frustrated with difficult-to-service products, including motor vehicles, agricultural equipment and smartphones. Some states, including Massachusetts, and federal lawmakers have sought to implement new right-to-repair laws that protect consumers' ability to shop around for vehicle maintenance and repair services.
According to the agreement, the organizations plan to oppose state legislation that conflicts with the agreement and work together on federal legislation.
“Independent repairers and automakers are not at odds on automotive data access, but rather in lockstep on this fundamental principle: consumers should have choice when it comes to repair options and the ability to have their vehicle serviced in well-equipped shops by well-trained technicians anytime, anywhere, anyplace,” the organizations said in a letter to federal lawmakers Tuesday.
According to the letter, independent repair shops perform 70% of post-warranty vehicle repairs.
Auto Innovators sued the state of Massachusetts and sought a temporary restraining order from a federal judge to stop the state from implementing changes to its 2013 right-to-repair law that mandate automakers share more of their data and repair information with independent service shops. Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure in 2020 requiring those changes.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent a letter to automakers in June directing them to ignore the Massachusetts law, which covers vehicle telematics, data access and powertrain information, because regulators worry that individuals could use that information to weaponize cars and trucks.
In February, U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn, a Republican from Florida, reintroduced the Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair Act. The REPAIR Act would “ensure consumers have access to data relating to their motor vehicles, critical repair information, and tools, and to provide them choices for the maintenance, service, and repair of their motor vehicles, and for other purposes,” the bill says. U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, a Democrat from Illinois, originally introduced the legislation last year.
