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Earlier this month, voters in Massachusetts overwhelmingly
approved an initiative to revise the state's 2013 "Right to
Repair" law to require automakers to provide expanded access to
mechanical and electronic repair data and allow independent
shops to repair increasingly sophisticated technology.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation trade group said if the
law takes effect "years of manufacturers’ work and billions of
dollars in investment to protect and secure vehicle data will
effectively be obliterated."
The court battle may help determine who will control the $390
billion U.S. auto data aftermarket in the digital age. The auto
group asked a U.S. district court judge in Boston to block the
law, which is set to take effect in the 2022 model year. The
Massachusetts attorney general's office declined to comment.
Unprecedented advancements in modern vehicles and crash
avoidance systems have prompted many automakers to limit
information and warranties to only parts and repairs from
authorized dealers to ensure safety and privacy.
They argue such data is complex and sensitive, and that using
content to repair modern cars requires extensive training by
those with proprietary technology.
Independent repair groups have rebuked those restrictions as an
attempt to seize control of the lucrative repair market and a
way to force consumers into more expensive
manufacturer-affiliated dealer shops. They are also concerned by
automakers increasingly pushing for wireless repair data
transfers, which will limit third-party access.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in July
the measure "requires vehicle manufacturers to redesign their
vehicles in a manner that necessarily introduces cybersecurity
risks, and to do so in a timeframe that makes design, proof, and
implementation of any meaningful countermeasure effectively
impossible."
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Tina Bellon in
New York; additional reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston;
Editing by Diane Craft and Tom Brown)
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