This article originally appeared in Ratchet+Wrench.
A coalition of repairers and automakers have officially stated their views on Right to Repair and shared them with members of Congress, according to a press release.
The Automotive Service Association, the Society of Collision Repair Specialists, and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation collaborated on a letter to members of Congress with views on right-to-repair collectively agreed upon, based upon a national agreement made in 2014.
The letter stated that information provided to authorized dealers should also be accessible to independent shops. This can range from telematics data to technologies and powertrains for all vehicles, including gasoline, diesel, fuel cell, electric battery, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid electric.
Ways to make repair information accessible to others were proposed, such as having it directly accessible through an automaker’s website, shared access points such as www.OEM1Stop.com, or third-party information providers.
Following the announcement, the Auto Care Association has come out in opposition to the letter, stating that it fails to address several issues.
“While the agreement purports to be relevant, all it does is affirm the 2014 Memorandum of Understanding rather than implement a meaningful solution to preserve the entire automotive aftermarket and the competition and consumer choice that it creates,” the response stated.
