More protection for garages against the termination of workshop contracts
Published: Wednesday, Feb 28th 2024, 13:40
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Car garages and workshops in Switzerland are to be better protected against the termination of their dealer and workshop contracts. The National Council wants to amend the Cartel Act accordingly.
On Wednesday, it adopted a motion by Niklaus-Samuel Gugger (EPP/ZH) by 141 votes to 41. Now the Council of States has to deal with it. 28 members of all parliamentary groups in the National Council co-signed the motion.
The motion initially demands that dealer and workshop contracts with garages may not be terminated if manufacturers or importers cannot prove that the new sales model is significantly more efficient, as stated in the motion text.
The motion also demands that following the introduction of the agency model or direct sales, both car manufacturers and importers as well as garages in Switzerland must comply with the Cartel Act. Gugger argued that garages would lose out to manufacturers and importers due to a loophole in the law.
The Federal Council is against the motion. It argues that if an existing distribution system has to be maintained, this is a far-reaching obligation to contract and refers to economic and contractual freedom. According to him, the Cartel Act applies to all distribution models, including agency models and direct sales.
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