Policy field
Competition: Antitrust
Background
Art. 101(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (“the Treaty”) prohibits anticompetitive agreements between undertakings unless they fulfil the conditions contained in Art. 101(3) of the Treaty (i.e., they present efficiencies and allow consumers a fair share of the resulting benefits). Council Regulation (EEC) 19/65 enables the Commission to apply Art. 101(3) of the Treaty by regulation to certain categories of vertical agreements and corresponding concerted practices falling within Art. 101(1) of the Treaty for which it can be assumed with sufficient certainty that they satisfy the conditions of Art. 101(3) of the Treaty. The Commission has made use of this power by adopting general as well as sector-specific measures.
Since 1 June 2013, Commission Regulation (EU) No 330/2010 of 20 April 2010 on the application of Article 101(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to categories of vertical agreements and concerted practices (the “VBER”) has been applicable to agreements for the distribution of new motor vehicles. Since 1 June 2022, Regulation (EU) No 330/2010 has been replaced by Regulation (EU) 2022/720. Agreements relating to the sale or resale of spare parts for motor vehicles or the provision of repair and maintenance services for motor vehicles are subject to the Commission Regulation (EU) No 461/2010 as amended by Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/822 of 17 April 2023 (the "Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation"). The Commission also adopted a Notice providing guidance on the interpretation of this Regulation, which was amended by a Communication from the Commission on 17 April 2023 (“Supplementary Guidelines” on vertical restraints in agreements for the sale and repair of motor vehicles and for the distribution of spare parts for motor vehicles").
Evaluation phase
On 18 January 2024, the Commission launched an evaluation of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation. Following the prolongation under the last evaluation (launched in 2018), the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation expires on 31 May 2028, and, as provided for in Article 7 thereof, its operation must be evaluated before then.
The purpose of the evaluation is to gather facts and evidence on the functioning of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (including the application of Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/720 to the motor vehicle sector), along with the corresponding Guidelines, and assess the extent to which they are still fit for purpose considering the current competitive situation in the sector. The previous evaluation indicated notably that the motor vehicle market was likely to evolve in the coming years, in particular due to the digitalisation of vehicles and new mobility patterns.
The evaluation will be based on the criteria of effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and EU added value and will build on several sources: It will start with the publication of a Call for Evidence, which will include information about the upcoming consultation activities as part of the evaluation process and will give stakeholders the opportunity to provide feedback. In addition, the Commission is working with the Commission’s Joint Research Centre on a study to collect sector-specific information pertaining to a list of relevant industry indicators, with particular focus on the digital transformation of the automotive markets. An open public consultation is planned for the last quarter of 2024 to gather further direct feedback from interested stakeholders. In addition, the national competition authorities will be asked for feedback. Finally, the evaluation will also take into account the results of the last evaluation of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation.
The progress of the evaluation can be followed on the Commission’s “Have your say” portal.
Impact Assessment Phase
The evaluation will be followed by an impact assessment to assess the different policy options for the future of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation, which is planned for 2026.
Last Review of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation and the Supplementary Guidelines
The last evaluation of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation was launched on 3 December 2018 and built on several sources: (i) a public consultation which ran from 12 October 2020 to 25 January 2021 (summary of the contributions); (ii) a consultation with the National Competition Authorities (summary of their contributions); (iii) an external fact-finding study; and (iv) the monitoring and enforcement experience of the Commission in the sector over the past decade. On 28 May 2021, the evaluation ended with the adoption of an Evaluation Report on the operation of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation, accompanied by a Staff Working Document.
Once the findings of the evaluation were published, the Commission started the policy-making stage of the review, in order to decide on the future of the regime by 31 May 2023. To this effect, between 6 July and 30 September 2022, the Commission ran a stakeholder consultation and a call for evidence to get feedback on (i) the draft Regulation prolonging the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation for five years and (ii) the draft Communication amending the Supplementary Guidelines. A synopsis report of the contributions received is available.
In April 2023, the Commission adopted the Regulation prolonging the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation until 31 May 2028 and the Communication amending the Supplementary Guidelines. A synopsis report on the consultation activities conducted during the policy making phase of the review is available.
Contact details
Responsible services:
Directorate-General for Competition – Unit E.2 – Antitrust: Consumer goods, Basic industries, Agriculture and Manufacturing
Please always indicate the reference number in your correspondence: HT.5336
E-Mail address:
COMP-CAR-SECTOR
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (COMP-CAR-SECTOR[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
Postal address:
European Commission
Directorate-General for Competition
1049 Brussels
Belgique/België