EU Parliament calls on Commission to tackle odometer manipulation
The undersigned organisations welcomed the vote at the European Parliament calling on the European Commission to take decisive action against odometer fraud throughout the European Union. This is a significant step towards restoring consumer trust in the used car market.
Already in 2014, we had come together to call upon the European Parliament and the European Commission to address this all too common scam which has an impact on millions of people. The EP has now sent a clear signal that it is taking citizens’ interests seriously.
The Parliament calls for a range of measures to tackle odometer manipulation both for vehicles newly put on the market and for those already on the road. The report highlights both technical measures to prevent odometer fraud and reporting requirements on odometer readings for Member States.
Odometer fraud is widespread across the European Union and has critical consequences for the consumer. Also known as “clocking”, it is the practice of rolling back a car’s mileage counter to show a false reading, lower than the car’s actual mileage, in order to boost its sale price.
In a 2017 study, the European Parliament found that up to 40% of used cars traded across EU borders are “clocked” and that citizens EU-wide incur a loss of EUR 8.9 billion every year, under conservative assumptions and without taking account of the consumer damage from manipulated vehicles sold within the same country. Besides inflated costs for the consumer, odometer tampering has adverse consequences on road safety and, the environment and substantially distorts the functioning of the used car market in the EU.
The large cross-party majority that supported the report is an important indicator of European determination to end odometer tampering across all 28 Member States, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank MEP Ismail Ertug and all those involved in the file for their tireless efforts and determination to protect the European consumer.
We are confident that the European Commission will follow suit and act swiftly to implement the solutions set out in the report. Be it consumers, the automobile industry or dealers: all of them will benefit from restored trust in the European used car market. Our organisations are committed to assist the Commission in this effort.
Names and contact persons of the organisations
FIA – Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile Region I – L. Krid (Director General)
EReg – Association of European Vehicle and Driver Registration Authorities – S. Beckers (Chairman)
CARPOL – EU Police Network for Tackling vehicle crime – B. Dodde
CECRA – European Council for Motor Trades & Repairs – B. Lycke (Director General)
CITA – International Motor Vehicle Inspection Committee – E. Fernandez (Executive Director)
RDW – The Netherlands Vehicle Authority – A. van Ravestein (CEO)
Car-Pass – The Belgian mileage registration body – M. Peelman (Managing Director)