EU to open up visible car parts market 

The European Commission has unveiled plans to liberalise the market for visible car spare parts by removing design protection rules for these items. The Internal Market Commissioner, Frits Bolkestein, said that depriving consumers of choice was "anti-competitive and unjustifiable" and that people were entitled to value for money throughout a vehicle's life. 

Currently, vehicle manufacturers and their component suppliers have significant monopoly power in the market for visible replacement parts. This is because they can invoke design protection in 16 Member States to stop others producing them. Only nine Member States allow independent producers to supply visible parts and the prices for spare parts are six to ten per cent lower in these countries (Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, Hungary and Latvia). 

The proposal is expected to face stiff opposition from car makers, who argue that it will lead to job cuts and damage the competitiveness of one of Europe's leading industries. France and Germany, whose commissioners tried but failed to prevent the Commission's adoption of the proposal, are likely to lead opposition to the draft legislation in the Parliament and Council. 

Commissioner Bolkestein has warned MEPs against bowing to car makers pressure. "This is a typical case where narrow interests, a handful of big car makers with huge resources, try to undermine the general interest of the car owners," he said. Bolkstein dismissed claims that the new legislation will have an impact on car safety, saying that independent manufacturers all have to respect the same safety norms. He has also dismissed the argument that this reform will lead to further European job losses on the basis that car makers are already buying car parts in South America and Asia.