Analysis on the Regulation 1400/2002 on Motor Vehicle Distribution

Ferya TAŞ

The single market in the sale and after-sale servicing of motor vehicles has been slow to develop: differing tax regimes and methods of distribution, fluctuating exchange rates, and the fact that certain Member States drive on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, have meant that this market remains much less integrated than others.

The Commission has, for years, monitored price differentials between Member States. Over the years the Commission has had cause to examine a number of anti-competitive practices in the market for motor cars, in particular the partitioning of national markets to prevent sales of vehicles from low-to-high priced Member States, and has adopted numerous decisions finding infringements both of Article 81 (1) and, on a few occasions, of Article 82. as far as the system of block exemptions in concerned, the distribution of motor vehicles has, since 1985, been subject to a legislative regime separate from that for vertical agreements generally. There have been many cases brought before the Community Courts relating to the special regime for cars.

After a lengthy period of review and consultation of the operation of Regulation No 1475/95, the Commission concluded that a more economic and flexible approach to motor car distribution was required. The Regulation No 1400/2002, which entered fully into force on 1 October 2002, shows the significant change in the Commission’s approach toward the motor car sector.