David Blackhall

AUSTRALIA’S peak dealer body, the Australian Automotive Dealers Association (AADA), has slammed comments made by the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) that described dealers as “wealthy multinationals” and believes the comments to be disruptive to the role of the nation’s automotive representative bodies.

AADA acting CEO David Blackhall said comments this week made by the AAAA chief executive Stuart Charity at a Senator Ricky Muir-hosted press function were akin to civil war.

Stuart Charity

The AAAA is seeking support for a national mandatory data sharing system for independent repairers, but in announcing the plan, took a swipe at the AADA, who promptly returned fire.

“I disagree completely with comments made by Stuart Charity that dealers are ‘grasping, wealthy multinationals’ – they’re not,” Mr Blackhall said.

“Many are family-run businesses very similar to the people that Stuart Charity represents in the AAAA.

“I don’t think the industry has done a good job of unifying the role of getting the message across to politicians and legislators.

“This (comments by the AAAA) worsens the situation.

“A civil war is not beneficial to the automotive industry and its consumers and indeed to the Australian economy.”

On the issue of data sharing, Mr Blackhall said it was important that OEMs retain some right to the parts they design, develop, manufacture and sell.

“We don’t want a situation where an open data sharing system can allow less respectable people to take component plans to another country for low-cost manufacturer, then sell these sub-standard parts back into the Australian market,” he said.

“You can’t blame OEMs who want to protect their intellectual property.”

Mr Blackhall said that from the press conference this week hosted by the AAAA, it was obvious that independent repairers had already found ways to access data from OEMs.

“Mr Charity has suggested it was good to elevate the issue to the general public but emphasised that members… not tell customers they can’t service cars because, as we all know, we do find ways to get through and we ‘don’t want to shoot ourselves in the foot’.”

Mr Blackhall said the AAAA included a fully-drafted mandatory code in its press kit at the press conference.

“This indicates they are well advanced with this detail and I’d be surprised if a copy of it isn’t sitting on Minister O’Dwyer’s desk right now,” Mr Blackhall said.

By Neil Dowling