THE new three-year refrigerant handling licence and trading authorisation permits from the Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) have been welcomed by the industry, according to recently published figures. ARC states that since the option was made available on 1 January, more than 90 per cent of applicants have opted for the new three-year renewals – instead … Continue reading LICENSING UPDATE
THE European Union’s pioneering HFC phasedown is experiencing unintended consequences, with reports circulating of a surge in illegal HFC sales and imports. According to a story published by UK-based news outlet Cooling Post, an increasing quantity of illegal high-GWP refrigerant is being offered online. More often than not, these disreputable sellers simply ignore any regulations … Continue reading EURO HFC PHASEDOWN SPARKS ILLEGAL SALES
THE advocate general of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has declared that Germany failed to meet legal obligations regarding HFC use in vehicles. In late 2015, the ECJ’s attention was drawn to the fact that German company Daimler AG had been using R134a in new cars. Under the European Mobile Air Conditioning (MAC) directive, … Continue reading GERMANY UNDER FIRE FOR DAIMLER’S ILLEGAL USE OF R134A
ALTHOUGH the big German luxury brands have been beaten to the punch by Jaguar in the all-electric SUV stakes, all are currently readying I-Pace competitors. Mercedes-Benz will launch the EQC next year, with the Audi e-tron also confirmed for 2019. Both have been previewed by concept cars, but the production versions remain under wraps – … Continue reading GERMANY’S ELECTRIC SUV BLITZ
JAGUAR is the first established premium car manufacturer to launch an all-electric vehicle with the I-Pace, and has made a point of talking up the battery-powered SUV’s thermal management tech. Arriving in Australasian showrooms from around October this year, with an Australian price starting from $119,000 plus on-road costs, the I-Pace beats the likes of … Continue reading PACE OF PROGRESS
AUSTRALIAN farmers are also putting up a fight for fair and equal access to service and repair information. Due to the distances involved, Australian farmers often find themselves facing considerable and costly downtime while they wait for technicians to arrive, only for a problem to take just moments to fix with a software update. Speaking … Continue reading FARMERS’ REPAIR DATA FIGHT
MR SUKKAR told the Autocare audience that criteria for the federal government’s design for a mandatory repair and service information sharing scheme will seek to: • Offer consumers greater choice for getting their vehicle repaired, particularly in regional/remote areas • Make clear the expectations from manufacturers with respect to information sharing on fair and reasonable … Continue reading SUKKAR’S SHARING PLAN
THE image above was the first slide in Rod Sims’ Autocare keynote presentation and depicts his father’s workshop in Lorne, Victoria, which was in front of the family home for the first 10 years of his life. His family then moved to Geelong, where they opened another workshop, and Mr Sims would work in the … Continue reading SIMS RAISED IN A WORKSHOP
• Some car manufacturers only started providing independent repairers with access to technical websites during the course of the ACCC market study • Gaining information from some brands could take up to two weeks • Only certain car manufacturers appeared to be providing access to much of the types of technical information independent repairers need … Continue reading ACCC FINDINGS
A FAIR go for independent repairers under a mandatory repair information sharing scheme is high on the Turnbull government agenda and has the full support of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). This was the clear message from assistant minister to the treasurer Michael Sukkar in his opening address to the Autocare 2018 convention … Continue reading PROGRESS AT LAST
