October 2019

OCTOBER 2019 AFTERMARKET 15 www.aftermarketonline.net DORP PIERBURG HAS FOR FUEL SUPP NO CTU K L BEEN A SPECIALIST Y COMPONENTS FOR GDLEW f Advantages o Pierburg fue • For veteran cars, classic • Universal fuel pumps as E l pumps: cars and cutting-edge models a replacement for mechanical OUR HEART BEATS FOR YOUR ENGINE. MORE THAN 100 YEARS. fuel pumps in veteran cars which are no longer available • OE supplier with tradition • Quality & reliability • Know-how and service from an OEM www.ms-motorservice.com that may include these ‘security’ related replacement parts. They could claim that this is not a problem, as there would be no discrimination with what is fitted by their authorised repairers, so they would conform with European repair and maintenance legislation for the ‘non-discrimination’ requirement. However, this trend is likely to develop further as autonomous vehicle systems increase to, ultimately the fully autonomous vehicle. Although the ‘security’ classification is directly a threat, there could also be a requirement that non-OEM (i.e. aftermarket) replacement parts may need to be type approved, which would not be such a problem if there were test methods for the type approval process, but in most cases, there aren’t, so testing becomes very difficult and expensive – again restricting the choice of parts which may be available in the future. Competence and traceability What can be done then? Actually, quite a lot, but it won’t happen unless someone actually does something to challenge these restrictions. That’s the role of the various aftermarket associations, both here in the UK and for their European partner associations. Fundamentally it is likely to become an issue of legislative compliance and a combination of demonstrating both competence and traceability for independent workshops. This could work in a framework where workshops are verified and registered via a ‘conformity assessment body’ who then provides a certificate and pin for use when accessing the relevant parts or re- configuration codes via a vehicle manufacturer’s website or a neutral trust centre, or using these ‘credentials’ when re-calibrating an ADAS camera. The workshop would only be verified if the relevant competency could be demonstrated and the certificate system provides traceability in the event of a subsequent system malfunction. Additionally, the vehicle manufacturer could conduct an ‘over the air’ verification of the vehicle’s ADAS status to check that it is repaired or re-calibrated correctly. Ultimately, this may become a form of ‘workshop licensing’, but not only would this allow workshops to have the ability to develop new business models for the diagnosis, repair and re-calibration of these ADAS systems, but it would also provide a welcome assurance to their customers that the work has been done correctly and avoid the vehicle manufacturers having a monopolistic control of the work on these systems and ultimately, the future business of the independent sector. So now, more than ever, is the time to join forces via the aftermarket associations and support their fight for your future. xenconsultancy.com Some vehicle manufacturers have reclassified replacement ADAS components as ‘security items’ ”