The market of Captive auto parts it has always been seen as an obstacle to the independent aftermarket and free competition. Car manufacturers know this and from unsuspected times they started producing car parts to be activated with a QR code only through the official network. It seems Nevertheless that the situation goes further: the editorial staff of SicurAUTO.it received it notification from a spare parts dealer this departure from July 1, 2023the group Volkswagen will stop selling genuine parts to independents via its official distribution network.

INDEPENDENT SPARE PARTS EXCLUDED FROM GENUINE PARTS SALE

From July 1, 2023 it will shoot for independent spare parts dealers the prohibition to sell Volkswagen original spare parts through official channels. The notice was sent informally to those directly affected through select automaker distributors. He tells us about it Ricardo Trasimini, a spare parts dealer who, like his other colleagues, reported to us what we report below. We contacted him to better understand what is happening behind the scenes of independent car repair, as IAM associations fight in Brussels for the free market and fair competition:

“For parts distributors and resellers like us access to original spare parts is essential in order to maintain competitiveness in the market. Like, how you will surely know, Mercedes Benz for many years it has prevented its dealers from selling spare parts to generic spare parts dealers. Very quickly it seems that also the VW group can take this direction. I and other members of the consortium between Tuscany and Umbria contacted several dealers and they confirmed it to us”.

THE HISTORY OF THE VOLKSWAGEN SPARE PARTS DEALERSHIP AND CAPTIVE AUTO PARTS

Going into detail, Trasimeni explained to us that this “filter” will be applied to all companies with ATECO code 45.31. “If this ATECO code appears from the Chamber of Commerce record, official distributors have informed us that from 1 July we will no longer be able to buy original spare parts”. But not all categories are affected by this posture, as the entrepreneur explains below. “This filter impacts especially a lot on body partsbecause at least 70-75% of turnover it’s done from original spare partsbut this applies to all brands, not just Volkswagen and car manufacturers are well aware of this”.

INDEPENDENT WORKSHOPS EXCLUDED FROM THE AUTO CAPTIVE PARTS FILTER

“I believe this thing can also have a significant impact on the competition from the entire repair industry. It seems the makers are basically interpreting the intentions behind the BER upside down or whatever prevent the free trade of spare parts”. The possible solution for bypass the block it seems to be the cash flow, through a workshop with a large turnover, or open a repair business related to the sale of spare parts. It sounds absurd, but that’s how it is, as Trasimeni explains: “I should open a workshop or body shop to be able to sell original spare parts, much to the delight of the Revenue Agency. In fact, this ostracism does not exist towards independent repairers. Probably because the official networks cannot manage repairs alone, especially in bodywork”.