The Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) has reported that the European Commission has amended the ‘Euro 5’ emissions regulation by passing a new law that regulates the access to the electronic spare parts identification data by those market participants not associated with a vehicle manufacturer’s network, that is to say, the independent sector.

These include, for example, multi-brand repair shops, independent parts wholesalers, roadside rescue patrols, manufacturers of diagnostic tools and also parts suppliers. On a Europe-wide basis, this represents about 885,000 businesses with some 4.6m employees.

The new law obligates the vehicle assemblers to release electronic data that allows an exact identification of vehicle spare parts.

Given the ever growing complexity of modern vehicles and the growing parts variety and diversity even within one series, independent aftermarket operators have found it increasingly difficult to carry out their business, i.e. to produce and sell parts and offer other services. There was the threat of a monopoly on the part of the vehicle manufacturers and thus of higher prices to be paid by Europe’s