Commission ‘dismayed’ at cost of car repairs

Cost of maintenance rising faster than the rate of inflation.

The European Commission today (9 July) said that it was “dismayed” at rising costs for car repairs and maintenance in the EU, after new figures showed prices rising faster than the general rate of inflation.

The Commission said that the figures justified its decision in May to overhaul antitrust rules for the car sector.

“This [price increase] shows that bringing more competition into the [car] after-sales market was the right choice and should pave the way for more efficient services to the benefit of European consumers,” Joaquín Almunia, the European commissioner for competition, said.

The figures are contained in the Commission’s annual report on car prices in the EU, which was published today. It shows that the cost of car repairs in the EU rose by 1.5% in 2009, and there was a 1.7% rise in the cost of maintenance, more than the rate of inflation. The real cost of spare parts increased by 0.7%.

“I am dismayed to see that the prices for repairs and spare parts continued to rise during the economic recession,” Almunia said.

The Commission in May decided to require manufacturers to provide independent garages with the technical information that they need to carry out repairs. It also decided to reduce manufacturers’ control over where authorised repairers buy their spare parts. The decisions, which were taken to bring repair and maintenance costs down, came into force on 1 June.

The report said that car prices fell by 0.6% in 2009. Car prices fell in all member states with the exception of the Netherlands, UK and Sweden. The report said that 14.4 million new cars were registered in the EU in 2009, a drop of 1.6% compared with 2008, and a fall of 9.5% compared with 2007.