Trade associations representing Canadian car manufacturers and independent auto service providers have forged a voluntary agreement that will allow auto service facilities to access manufacturers' service and repair information, a significant victory for Canada's Right to Repair movement.
The agreement, called the Canadian Automotive Service Information Standard (CASIS), elminates the need for Right to Repair legislation, according to the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association (CVMA), one of the agreement's principals. (The others are the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada, which represents international companies doing business in the Canadian automotive sector, and the National Automotive Trades Association, which represents some 5,000 auto service facilities.)
"The key here is that this is a voluntary process that affords the parties the opportunity to address issues and concerns as they arise in a straightforward, fast, efficient and cost-effective manner," says CVMA officials. "We do not see the need for any legislative backstop.
"Automotive OEMs representing over 99.9% of all vehicle sales in Canada have voluntarily committed to this agreement in good faith and intend on remaining compliant with CASIS."
While OEMs have the right to opt out of the agreement, the likelihood of this happening "is negligible given that the auto OEMs will have spent months developing and implementing this voluntary agreement," which ensures that any shop "that wants to make the investment in service and repair information, training information, tooling and equipment information for any make of vehicle... will be able to do so.
"As a result, consumers will have broader availability of facilities -- either authorized OEM dealerships or independent shops -- in which to have their non-warranty vehicle service work conducted."
