The RMI has slammed vehicle manufacturers for failing to adhere to new rules on freedom of access to technical data.

Matthew Carrington, chief executive of the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI), says: “While vehicle manufacturers are meeting their obligations for technical information provision, they are not making access easy. It is time for them to stop prevaricating and fulfill their responsibilities.”

Carrington was speaking this week at the Trade and Industry Select Committee about the inquiry into the UK automotive industry.

The new Block Exemption Regulation (BER) allows technical information to be made available to all retail motor sector businesses that have a need for it. Despite this, businesses claim access to information varies greatly depending on which manufacturer they have approached.

RMI says some manufacturers are more willing to provide technical information than others. “Those that are interested in building links with businesses and perhaps breaking into new markets are making the procedure clear, and are keeping costs down as much as possible. While others have been making the route difficult, and are keeping costs high,” the RMI claims.

Terms used by manufacturers are also causing problems according to Carrington: “At present vehicle manufacturers often use different terms to describe what will be effectively the same part. Unless some kind of agreement on general terms for components can be reached, businesses that source information from several manufacturers will be forced to navigate a muddle of conflicting terminology.”