KIA’s seven year warranty conditions have been deemed unlawful by a court in Sweden. Sveriges Bildelsgrossisters Forening (SBF), the association which represents the automotive aftermarket parts wholesalers in Sweden, has successfully taken the landmark case to the Market Court of Sweden.

SBF claimed KIA servicing restrictions contained within the KIA seven year warranty, which stated car owners had to service their cars within the KIA authorised network, were against EU Block Exemption rules. KIA counter claimed that these rules did not did not apply to them because they had less than the 30 percent market share threshold required by BER. However, the Market Court said that the market is brand specific, which therefore meant that KIA has more than 30% market share and cannot claim protection by referring to BER.

The Chairman of SBF, Chris Liljenberg, who has been fighting this case at great expense for over four years, said “We at SBF are relieved and happy for all EU car owners and Independent Aftermarket operators who today won an important victory against the car assemblers”.

Sylvia Gotzen, Secretary General of FIGIEFA, the International Association for Independent Parts Distributors commented, “We know that our Swedish colleagues had a hard time with this case, and we would warmly thank them for the relentless work they have been doing in the defence of freedom of repair within the entire aftermarket”

The case will send out a clear message to vehicle manufacturers that BER rules cannot be ignored. However, the Right 2 Repair Campaign organised by independent repairers and parts suppliers continues and all automotive aftermarket independents are urged to support it to protect their future business interests.