IAAF UPDATE
From Wendy Williamson, IAAF chief executive
To the Aftermarket,
This year has already been an eventful one, in and out of the aftermarket, and the Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation
(IAAF) is continuing to act in the interests of the industry, tackling both familiar issues, as well as rising dangers that pose a risk to its
members businesses.
EU Referendum
With the United Kingdom voting to leave the European Union following the EU referendum, our industry, along with a number of other
sectors within the UK, faces a period of uncertainty. However, we want to reassure our members that from a lobbying perspective, there will
be no immediate change as we will remain part of the EU for at least two or more years. In the meantime, we will continue to work closely
with our European colleagues to see what this result means for the independent aftermarket and the automotive industry as a whole.
Although we will find it more of a challenge to express our UK opinion on certain matters, we will continue to support FIGIEFA, as the
federation represents our main voice within Europe. It is important to note that there is no immediate threat to our members or the
aftermarket as a whole, as all European legislation will continue to be valid in the UK until formally reviewed by the government, and this
process could take up to ten years.
It is clear that we will now have to increase our lobbying within the UK in order to uphold the aftermarket’s rights, with our key aim
to ensure Block Exemption legislation continues and is retained after it expires in 2023. With this in mind, it is also important that we
continue to review changes to current legislation and champion the independent aftermarket at every opportunity.
We have also recently met with MEP, Daniel Dalton, to highlight the importance of the aftermarket and demonstrate the challenges the
industry faces in its fight to play on a level playing field with Vehicle Manufacturers (VM).
In an effort to raise awareness to the threat of the ‘connected car’ and the unfair advantage VMs have over the independent aftermarket, we
highlighted the importance of the same repair and maintenance information being made available to both VMs and independent operators,
and demonstrated that VMs should not be able to withhold any information that can be used for a ‘double purpose’, such as information
showing the interconnection of parts.
Cyber Crime
With the threat of cyber crime increasing significantly as technology continues to develop, the IAAF welcomed Iain O’Brien to promote
cybercrime awareness and its growing threat at our Breakfast Network Meeting at Ring Automotive, Leeds in July. O’Brien, who has 15
years’ experience in cybercrime law enforcement, warned that the aftermarket faces an extensive number of threats, from telephone fraud
to the growing threat of ransomware where users seize control of a company’s key data and then request a fee for the decryption code.
The IAAF is now urging the industry to prepare their businesses against these dangers, encouraging its members to manage the potential
threat of cybercrime at senior management level by training, briefing and practicing the danger with employees. With personal data viewed
as a commodity, it is imperative that the aftermarket is aware of issues as fraudsters are capable of cloning an individual’s cyber profile after
gathering an individual’s information from online and social media sources.
Unfortunately, this type of crime is on the rise and it is difficult to resolve once the damage has been done. The results can be disastrous and
it can destroy a company in a single swoop, and therefore we will continue to raise awareness and
encourage the entire supply chain to put procedures in place sooner rather than later to ensure
they are able to deal with the immediate threat if necessary.
Regards,
Wendy
IAAF Chief Executive
The Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) champions the interests and protects the rights of the independent aftermarket.
24 IAAF
VITAL NEWS ISSUE 44