Wendy Williamson, chief executive of the Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF), provided an overview of the latest challenges facing the industry and how the aftermarket is responding to these issues at Automechanika in Birmingham. In a keynote speech, she discussed a variety of topics, including the impact of Type Approval legislation.

IAAF is actively working to influence new regulations so that the OBD port remains live for RMI information and ensuring that information continues to be made available in an electronic form to independents. The threat of the connected car was also discussed as Williamson conveyed that the aftermarket could potentially lose all unmonitored access to the vehicle and become solely reliant on vehicle manufacturers for information.

The IAAF believes current proposals do not offer consumers a level playing field and with the growing number of vehicles now being connected, IAAF told visitors that it is currently raising its concerns to the legislators in both the EU.