A COMPREHENSIVE and multi-faceted market survey launched by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) into Australia’s new-car retail industry aims to review industry practices and identify any risks to consumers.

The survey, which allows only four weeks for responses, asks the car industry and the general public to submit comments on new-car issues including:

• Compliance with warranties and guarantees.
• Competition in the aftersales service sector by OEM and independent repairers.
• Access to repair information by independent repairers.
• Deceptive practices in fuel consumption, emission and car performance.

It was launched this week by ACCC chairman Rod Sims who said: “The ACCC and other Australian Consumer Law agencies continue to receive a high volume of complaints from consumers about new cars and this market study will help identify any systemic issues across the sector.”

“The ACCC would like to determine if car manufacturers and dealers understand their consumer guarantee obligations and whether consumers are able to exercise their rights.

“The representations made to consumers about fuel consumption and emissions are another key issue, as are issues around regular servicing and repairs and the ability of independent repairers to access repair and service data.

“This issues paper will assist people in identifying and alerting the ACCC to risks to consumers and the competitive process that may occur when buying a new car.”

The ACCC wants the public and members of the automotive industries to comment on the dealings between retailers and consumers on levels from sales and warranty support, to servicing and the work of independent repairers.

In response, the Australian Automotive Dealers Association (AADA) said the review was welcomed by its members.
AADA CEO David Blackhall said his association welcomes “a fair, transparent and factual evaluation of the three ambit areas nominated by Mr Sims”,

namely:

• Access to information in connection with the repair and maintenance of motor vehicles.
• Market behaviours in relation to warranties and guarantees.
• Accuracy of information provided by OEMs on emission levels and fuel economy.

Mr Blackhall said the AADA was pleased to hear the ACCC chairman Rod Sims acknowledge – in an interview this week on Ross Greenwood’s Radio 2GB program – that the commission has no interest in stimulating more competition in the new-car sales channel.

“Mr Sims said that with over 60 brands on sale, the ACCC has no concerns about consumers receiving a competitive price on a new vehicle,” Mr Blackhall said.

“This statement, by one of the government’s most senior regulators, seems to us to be at odds with the Liberal National Party policy initiative to allow personal private new car imports into the country.”

The AADA said it is planning to work closely with other industry advocacy organisations such as the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and Motor Trade Association of Australia (MTAA) to ensure the ACCC receives all relevant information bearing on the areas of interest.

FCAI chief executive Tony Weber told GoAutoNews Premium it was vital that government agencies such as the ACCC receive as much background as possible to ensure that it can make the best decisions for the industry and consumers.

However, he believed the market already operates very well and hoped this study would not lead to further regulations.

“If they are making a broad-ranging inquiry, then they have to get access to factual information because you can’t make good public policy unless you know what you’re talking about,” he said.

“The lack of knowledge of the government and bureaucracies in some of these areas can be quite frightening.

“There are areas in the document that we would like to provide additional information.”

There are a lot of significant issues here, including the fact that many people have owned and have serviced their cars with no issues over a long period.

“We hope that the work that the ACCC will not lead to unnecessary regulation.”

Mr Weber said the statistics provided by the ACCC and Choice – including 14 per cent of all new vehicles having major breakdown problems – need some investigation.

“Those vehicles could have been of varying ages,” he said.

“There’s no doubt that a car needs to be serviced and maintained and you need to go through that data because superficial data can be dangerous.

“These problems may be real, they may be perceived or they may be problems that have emanated from the way the car was used or repaired and serviced. For example, a problem car may have been serviced by its owner.”

Mr Weber also criticised the ACCC’s short submission period, however said the FCAI would respond.

The ACCC has given a tight timeline of only four weeks, finalising the market study on November 14, 2016. It is expected to report on its findings in June next year.

By Neil Dowling