Auto Care Association Responds to Alliance for Automotive Innovation Lawsuit in Massachusetts

BETHESDA, Md. – November 23, 2020 – The following statement can be attributed to Bill Hanvey, president and CEO, Auto Care Association:

“On Nov. 3, the citizens of Massachusetts made their voices loud and clear on the issue of vehicle data access, with an overwhelming 75% of voters supporting ballot Question 1. Unfortunately, the vehicle manufacturers are once again ignoring the will of the people and have instead chosen to pursue legal action against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in an effort to halt the implementation of Question 1. The Auto Care Association is very disappointed to see this pattern of behavior from the vehicle manufacturers against the American people, who want the right to control their vehicle mechanical data and to share it with their independent repair shops.

“Over the last several years, the Auto Care Association has joined with cyber security experts to develop international standards that could be readily implemented and will permit the cyber-secure sharing of data. Further, we have offered to work with the manufacturers to adopt these standards in order to ensure competition for their customers. However, instead of working to find common ground, the manufacturers have continued to engage in a scare campaign regarding access to wireless mechanical data, aimed first at voters and now the courts. Just like Massachusetts voters, we trust that the courts will see through the manufacturers’ scare tactics and will throw out this baseless lawsuit.”

For questions or more information, please contact Aaron Lowe, senior vice president, regulatory and government affairs, Auto Care Association, at aaron.lowe@autocare.org.