Division (7)

The Commissions preliminary conclusion was that GME’s arrangements for providing its technical information to independent repairers did not correspond to the latters’ needs either as regards the scope of the information available or as regards its accessibility, and that such a practice, in combination with similar practices by other car manufacturers, could have contributed to a decline in the market position of independent repairers. In turn, this could have caused considerable consumer harm in terms of a significant reduction in choice of spare parts, higher prices for repair services, a reduction in choice of repair outlets, potential safety issues, and a lack of access to innovative repair shops.