The European Commission proposed yesterday to fully liberalise Europe's €10 billion spare car parts market to cut the cost of repairs and give consumers a wider choice.
The proposal angered Europe's car manufacturers as it would end their near-monopoly over the lucrative market of visible spares such as mirrors, bumpers or lights.
The planned new rules will end design protection for visible spare parts and allow independent car part manufacturers to compete with the car manufacturers throughout the EU.
"If you need an external part for a car in some member states you can only get it from the original manufacturer. That is anti-competitive and unjustifiable. People are entitled to value for money throughout a vehicle's life," Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein said in a statement.
Several EU member states already allow independent makers to manufacture visible car parts. But this is not the case in some large members such as Germany and France.
Volkswagen, Europe's largest car manufacturer, criticised the proposal. "This is the wrong decision which harms the competitiveness of the German and European car industry," a spokesman said. "On the other hand we are in the very early stage of the legislative process. We expect the rational argument to find an ear during the upcoming negotiations," he added.
The Commission's proposal must be backed by a majority of EU governments and by the European Parliament before it becomes law.
The Fine Gael MEP for Leinster, Ms Mairead McGuinness, said in a statement that the decision was "a win-win situation for the consumer and will open up new opportunities in Ireland for the manufacture of car parts".
Ms McGuinness who had called for the Commission to make such a favourable decision said: "The decision is likely to lead to cheaper car parts such as body panels, headlights and windscreens. Liberalisation of the industry is bound to better serve the consumer who will have more choice rather than being restricted to buying spare parts from the same manufacturer who builds the car."