The Automotive Service Association (ASA) spoke on the REPAIR Act at a recent U.S. House Committee on Energy & Commerce Subcommittee hearing, according to a press release.
The Automotive Service Association (ASA) released details on Board of Directors Chairman Scott Benavidez’s testimony to the subcommittee during a hearing titled “Proposals to Enhance Product Safety and Transparency for Americans.”
Benavidez, who is also owner of Mr. B's Paint and Body Shop Inc. in Albuquerque, New Mexico, argued that an earlier agreement made with the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI) and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) will ensure that independent shops maintain access to the data they need to operate on newer vehicles, and effectively “nullifies the need for the REPAIR Act.”
“Newer vehicle technologies, with an increasing number of sensors, will present challenges to our shops without access to repair data,” said Benavidez. “That is why, in July of this year, ASA proudly announced it had reached a landmark agreement with automakers that ensures independent repair shops can diagnose and repair their customers’ vehicles without hindrance from telematics nor any other innovation.”
The agreement Benavidez is referencing has been met with great criticism from right-to-repair advocates, who have claimed the agreement does not sufficiently guarantee access to that data.
