Auto Care Insider Volume 109 - 14

GLOBAL
PERSPECTIVE

RIGHT TO REPAIR
ROLLED OUT IN THE U.S.,
BUT WILL IT WORK IN
SOUTH AFRICA?
JOHANNESBURG - The
United States' implementation
of its Right to Repair legislation began
four years ago and compliance with the
requirements has been very good, says
Aaron Lowe, senior vice president of
regulatory and government affairs for
the Auto Care Association.
	 Right to Repair South Africa's
director, Les McMaster, says the U.S.
offers an interesting example of how
the campaign has come into effect.
"It is especially important for us to
look at the U.S. since South Africa is
currently in the process of re-evaluating
its own automotive industry practices.
It re-enforces the importance of
getting the Right to Repair concept
legislated in South Africa," he says.

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AUTO CARE INSIDER  |  VOL. 109

Protecting motorists, consumers
	 In Nov. 2013, the Massachusetts
Right to Repair bill was signed
into law and a "Memorandum of
Understanding," based on the
Massachusetts law, was signed by U.S.
industry stakeholders in early 2014.
Lowe says that since the Right to Repair
agreement with the manufacturers went
into effect in 2014, car companies have
been required to make available, at a
reasonable cost, the same information,
tools and software they make
available to their franchised dealers.

How it works in the USA
	 With the recent 2018 model year
vehicles, new requirements have
come into effect that require car
companies to maintain "all of their

repair and diagnostic software in
the cloud and make it available for
download on a subscription basis."
Independent workshop technicians
must be able to access the vehicle
utilizing a standardized interface
meeting industry standards.
	 "In essence, these new requirements
mean that a workshop should have
the ability to repair nearly any vehicle
that comes in without having to
purchase proprietary tools that cost
upwards of $10,000 to $20,000. While
we believe that aftermarket tools will
still be the choice for most shops,
this will provide increased options
for independent shops in repairing
late model vehicles," says Lowe.

What about South Africa?
	 McMaster says this proves
that the objectives of the Right to
Repair campaign in South Africa
are nothing unusual. "In the U.S. the
car manufacturers are complying
with providing technical support to
independent workshops. In South
Africa, both the current lack of access
to information and the stringent
framework surrounding warranty,
maintenance and service plans,
- minimizes, if not destroys - the
consumers right to choose. We believe
this imbalance needs to be addressed
as it has been in the U.S. since the 70s."
	 McMaster says it's encouraging
that South African authorities are
seeing the need for change. "It's
also important that we learn from
other countries around the world
and use these learnings to find the
right solution for our market."
The Auto Care Association is proud to partner
internationally to move the needle on Right to
Repair issues to ensure a global aftermarket.
A version of this article first appeared in
Wheels24 (http://www.wheels24.co.za/News/
Guides_and_Lists/right-to-repair-rolled-outin-the-us-but-will-it-work-in-sa-20171213),
South Africa's largest online motoring news
publication. Reprinted with permission.
http://www.wheels24.co.za/News/Guides_and_Lists/right-to-repair-rolled-out-in-the-us-but-will-it-work-in-sa-20171213
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Auto Care Insider Volume 109
