The Competition Commission said today (1st) that its investigation found that seven distributors of 17 private car brands including Audi, BMW, Toyota, Volkswagen, Honda, MINI and Land Rover imposed warranty restrictions, stipulating whether maintenance or repair items are Within the scope of warranty, customers are required to send their private car to an authorized service center for maintenance or repair.
If the customer does not comply, he will bear the risk of voiding the warranty.
The Commission said the distributors had undertaken not to enforce the existing warranty restrictions nor to include them in the warranty terms of new vehicles.
The relevant distributor also proposed to make corresponding amendments to the relevant contract within 90 days after the commitment took effect and notify the customer.
The Commission considers that the proposed undertaking can properly relieve the Commission's doubts, and therefore intends to accept the undertaking and conduct consultation on accepting the undertakings of the seven private car distributors under the Competition Ordinance.
According to the Commission, the seven distributors are Cartel Motors Limited, Dah Chong Hong Group Limited, Inchcape International Holdings Limited, Jinlong Motors Group Co., Ltd., Yimei Automobile (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd., Sime Darby Motors Group (Hong Kong). ) Limited and Hongyi Holdings Limited; brands involved include Audi, BMW, Citroen, Ford, Honda, Jaeger, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Master, MINI, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Fuji, Suzuki, Toyota and Volkswagen (Fuchs).
Competition Commission: Existing restrictions make maintenance and repair services expensive
The Commission considers that the warranty restrictions imposed by the seven distributors may deter private car owners from visiting independent garages during the warranty period, and thus may limit the ability of independent garages to compete with authorized repair centres.
This also reduces service options for car owners, which ultimately leads to high prices for maintenance and repair services.
The seven distributors are Cartel Motors Limited, DCH Group Limited, Inchcape International Holdings Limited, Jinlong Motors Group Limited, etc.
(Screenshot of the competition committee document)
In response to the Commission's investigation, the relevant distributors made a legally binding commitment that they would not enforce the existing warranty restrictions, etc.
The Commission pointed out that if the undertaking is accepted after consultation, private car owners will enjoy greater freedom in choosing a vehicle repair and maintenance service provider, and will not have to bear the risk of voiding their warranty if they are not inspected at an authorized repair center.
Commitment period of 5 years
The Commission also pointed out that the proposed commitments will not only benefit car owners, but will also bring positive changes to independent garages, allowing independent garages to have more opportunities to compete.
The commitment will be valid for five years from the effective date, and there will be a reporting and monitoring mechanism to ensure that distributors comply with the commitment.
The Commission invites people from all walks of life to provide comments on the proposed commitments and submit representations to the Commission on or before 6pm on the 15th of this month.
The Commission considers that the proposed undertaking can properly relieve the Commission's doubts, and therefore intends to accept the undertaking and conduct consultation on accepting the undertakings of the seven private car distributors under the Competition Ordinance.
(file picture)
Zheng Ruohua’s husband Pan Letao’s An Leshe and Shun Hing conspired to set prices, three people were filed by the competition committee for a new car to be guaranteed at a special repair station. Competition committee: or restrict the competition of independent garages. The lowest price or the violation of the regulations is dissatisfied with the low bid of the peers. Hu Zhaoying is involved in forcing the opponent to increase the price. The competition committee requests the disqualification of director Hu. The automobile fuel price is high.
