Groupe Renault - 2020 Universal Registration Document

121 GROUPE RENAULT I UNIVERSAL REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 2020 01 REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT GROUPE RENAULT GROUPE RENAULT: A COMPANY THAT ACTS RESPONSIBLY CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS RENAULT AND ITS SHAREHOLDERS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF RENAULT ON APRIL 23, 2021 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION European regulations applicable to the distribution of new 1.6.3 vehicles and spare parts Groupe Renault is subject to European competition law, which prohibits agreements that prevent, restrict, or distort competition. By way of exception, agreements limiting competition (in particular through selection of resellers or provision for exclusive terms for them) are authorized when they may contribute to improving the production and distribution of products or to promote technical or economic progress. The purpose of the European Commission’s block exemption regulations no. 330/2010 of April 20, 2010 and no. 461/2010 of May 27, 2010 , which are applicable to the distribution of new vehicles and the supply of spare automotive parts and to repair and maintenance services for motor vehicles respectively, is to exempt from the prohibition of cartels, agreements presumed to improve distribution without eliminating competition. The criteria for this automatic exemption depend on the market shares of the parties to an agreement (maximum threshold of 30%) and the absence of any marked restrictions on competition. As applied to the automotive sector, this exemption is in principle applicable to the selection by manufacturers of their network of authorized distributors and repairers. However, the presence of one of the following restrictions may prohibit the exemption from being applied: setting the price (fixed or minimum) at which distributors can P resell vehicles or spare parts (prohibition of resale price maintenance); the distribution of geographic markets or customers between P distributors (market distribution); the ban on sourcing by authorized distributors from other P authorized distributors (restriction of cross-deliveries); the ban on the resale by authorized distributors of spare parts to P independent repairers for use in repair or maintenance services; and the ban on the use by authorized repairers of spare parts of a P quality equivalent to original parts for repair or maintenance services. Similarly, under regulation no. 461/2010, any restriction concerning access by independent repairers to the technical information necessary for the repair and maintenance of vehicles is presumed to exclude the benefit of exemption from the selection by Renault of its network of authorized repairers. Regulation no. 330/2010 expires on May 31, 2022. Its effectiveness has been under evaluation by the European Commission since October 2018, and it will decide no sooner than the second quarter of 2020 whether to let the regulation lapse or to extend or revise it. Regulation no. 461/2010 expires on May 31, 2023. Its effectiveness has been under evaluation by the European Commission, and it will decide no sooner than the second quarter of 2021 whether to let the regulation lapse or to extend or revise it. Community design regulations 1.6.4 Council regulation (EC) no. 6/2002 of December 12, 2001 on community designs provides for the principle of the repair clause, which excludes the protection of visible spare parts of a vehicle via designs and models (repair clause principle) in order to promote free market competition by allowing any company to manufacture and sell spare parts on the after-sales market. At the national level, European states remain divided over the repair clause. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, Poland, Spain, and, since January 1, 2020, Germany, have adopted the repair clause as national law. However, other countries such as France, Slovakia and Croatia refuse this deregulation and therefore do not apply the repair clause principle. The repair clause could become applicable to all European Union countries. In late 2018, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the overall assessment of the design and model system with questions relating to the repair clause. In addition, France has already submitted a bill on this subject, in which adoption of the repair clause is being considered. The extension of the repair clause to all European Union countries, it would have a significant economic impact on the Groupe Renault’s after-sales market share.