South Africa's independent automotive repair sector is calling for urgent regulatory reform to address mounting barriers in accessing critical vehicle technical information – a challenge that experts say could be solved by formally recognising data publishers in the country's competition framework.
Speaking at the Right to Repair Conference during Automechanika this week, industry leaders highlighted how the current system leaves independent service providers struggling to compete with franchised dealerships, despite existing guidelines meant to ensure fair access.
Kate Elliott, who heads Right to Repair South Africa, pointed to a fundamental disconnect between policy and practice. Whilst the Guidelines for Competition in the South African Automotive Aftermarket mandate that vehicle manufacturers provide technical information to independent workshops, accessing this data remains prohibitively expensive and administratively complex.
"We're operating in a market with over 30 major vehicle brands, each with different systems and protocols," Elliott explained. "Modern vehicles are essentially computers on wheels, and without proper access to repair data, independent workshops simply cannot service them effectively."
The European Solution
The conference examined how Europe has successfully addressed this challenge through a structured data publisher model. Pierre Thibaudat, who leads the Association of Data Publishers for the Automotive Aftermarket, described how 18 member organisations purchase, standardise and distribute technical information from manufacturers to create seamless multi-brand repair solutions.
"Rather than workshops dealing with dozens of different manufacturer portals, formats and subscription models, data publishers provide a single point of access," Thibaudat said. "One subscription gives a workshop everything they need across all makes and models."
This system, underpinned by EU regulations including the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation and Type Approval Regulation, has created what Thibaudat describes as a "fair, transparent and highly efficient" ecosystem that benefits manufacturers, repairers and consumers alike.
Local Challenges
For South African workshops, the reality is more fragmented. Dereck Knight, representing Bosch Automotive Aftermarket's technical services division across Africa, emphasised that inconsistent data formats and access protocols create significant operational hurdles.
"Every manufacturer delivers information differently and on different timelines," Knight said. "For an independent workshop trying to service multiple brands, this becomes a costly nightmare."
Knight stressed that responsible data publishers implement robust security measures – including encryption and controlled licensing – to protect manufacturer intellectual property whilst making essential repair information accessible.
The Consumer Impact
Local workshop owner Gunther Schmitz, who chairs Right to Repair and runs AutoWORKS, illustrated the downstream effects on vehicle owners. When independent workshops lack access to diagnostic codes or software update capabilities, vehicles must be sent to dealerships, extending repair times and inflating costs.
Schmitz rejected suggestions that requesting repair data constitutes intellectual property theft. "When you buy a house, you get the building plans to maintain and modify your property – the architect still owns the intellectual property," he said. "We're not asking for blueprints to manufacture vehicles. We need the technical information to repair them safely."
Path Forward
Elliott believes the solution lies in amending South Africa's automotive aftermarket guidelines to formally recognise and integrate data publishers into the regulatory framework.
"Data publishers already have the infrastructure, security protocols and industry relationships to make this work," she said. "If we establish clear pathways for them to purchase OEM data at fair market rates and distribute it through trusted channels, we solve multiple problems simultaneously."
The reform would enable competition and consumer choice whilst maintaining data protection standards – a model already proven effective across European markets.
"The examples are there, the technology exists, and the need is urgent," Elliott concluded. "If South Africa wants a competitive, innovative automotive aftermarket that serves consumers fairly, recognising data publishers in our regulatory framework is the essential next step."
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