 | ORIGINAL BER SERIES: Gentlemen’s dispute or bar room brawl?
Gentlemen’s dispute or bar room brawl?: Parts 1–7
The European Commission's aim in revising the BER is to ensure that consumers get a better deal, not just when they buy a new car but for the duration of the ownership of that vehicle; after-sales services currently account for about 40 percent of the total cost of owning a car over its lifetime. The new regulation has accordingly been designed to accomplish several objectives;
- To promote intra-brand competition and the harmonisation of prices across the European Union (EU).
- To give dealers more independence from vehicle manufacturers.
- To liberalise the provision of after-sales services and the procurement of spare parts.
It covers passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, trucks, buses and coaches; and it applies in Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein, as well as all the member states of the EU.
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