F&I Management & Training

BMW has been reported to the Competition and Markets Authority by Carwow for what it believes are “anti-competitive” controls that stop franchise holders from using the online car sales channel.

“We have reported BMW to the CMA,” confirmed Carwow boss James Hind, speaking to Auto Retail Agenda. “We believe there are a lot of their dealers who want to join Carwow but BMW is stopping them.”

BMW is one of the few major brands that is not represented on Carwow.

Mr Hind said: “We think it’s a contravention of European Block Exemption Regulation and is anti-competitive. Ultimately we believe it goes against the customer’s best interest.” Mr Hind added that reporting a company to the CMA was the “easy bit” and that now it was up to the government body to decide if it would investigate.

A BMW spokesman responded saying: “We are aware of the legal situation. It’s something we feel that Carwow does not have any substance in European law in making their claim so there is a discussion between the two legal departments.”

The move by Carwow follows a similar situation in Germany where Ford, Opel and Peugeot Citroen had to climb down from restrictions on how their networks cooperated with intermediaries. The manufacturers were forced to change their retailer controls under legal proceedings initiated by the Bundeskartellamt, the independent competition authority whose task is to protect competition in Germany.

FEED: ARN

DATED: 06.06.16