Citroen repairer contract EU challenge

Europe's first legal challenge to the approved repairer clauses in the new block exemption has been thrown down. The Federation Nationale de l'Artisanat de l'Automobile (FNA), the French independent garage trade association, has lodged a formal EU competition complaint against Citroen.

The organisation argues that the carmaker's authorised repairer contract – and Citroen plans a huge expansion of its repairer network in the UK – will prevent adequate monitoring of adherance to the legislation and the required consumer/market benefits.

The FNA also claims the contract will raise several competition issues linked to access to parts and technical information by independent operators.