IAAF issues survey on access to tech data

The IAAF is urging its members, garages and parts distributors, to take advantage of an opportunity to give the European competition authorities a first-hand view of the difficulties encountered in accessing technical and cataloguing data from the vehicle assemblers.

Following the IAAF’s survey of vehicle assemblers at the start of 2014, the European Commission have appointed market analysts Ricardo-AEA to collect and assess market experience in obtaining Repair & Maintenance Information (RMI) data for repairing and servicing vehicles. The survey will also look at access to parts data for use in cataloguing and part cross-referencing purposes.

Brian Spratt, IAAF chief executive, explained: “At the start of 2014, we enquired about access to RMI and parts cataloguing data and found evidence of non-compliance with the ‘Euro’ regulations from some of the VAs. We showed the information to the OFT to see if any action was applicable and we learned that it had been passed to the EU competition authorities – who have contracted Ricardo-AEA to assess the marketplace situation.”

Spratt continued: “The IAAF’s findings have been replicated by colleagues in trade bodies in other EU states, and it’s this overwhelming body of pan-Europe evidence that has encouraged the Commission to carry out these studies.”

The IAAF will be issuing guidance notes to members and the relevant website address to take part in the confidential survey and continue to lobby for VAs to release the data for both RMI and parts cataloguing. Failure to adhere to the commission’s rules on improved access to technical information can result in fines, as was the case some years back with Daimler, Toyota and others being fined several million euros.