Filenews 29 January 2025 - by Angelos Nicolaou
The Department of Transportation resorts to name and shame practices for distributors who have a hotline with manufacturers for vehicle recalls, but refuse to cooperate with the Department of Road Transport.
In addition, ways to speed up the completion of Takata airbag replacement are being studied, not only by distributors' crews, but also by other licensed engineers and electricians. At the same time, the Ministry of Transport has so far found that 84,000 European-style and imported vehicles are affected by recalls.
The Minister of Transport, Alexis Vafeadis, informed the members of the parliamentary committee on Transport about the above yesterday in a closed session and is subject to approval by the Legal Service. There is even a possibility that the Minister will inform the members of the Commission again at a new meeting tomorrow, Thursday.
All this in view of the issuance of the expected decree with effect from February 3, 2025, based on which the State is now called upon to manage the recall of vehicles, the restriction or not of their use and the role that each party involved should play. The decree is expected to be temporary, and will exclusively deal with the urgency of the situation with faulty Takata airbags.
The atmosphere during the meeting was very constructive and the government and parliament agreed that all owners of vehicles equipped with defective airbags should be informed immediately and clearly.
MPs were briefed by name on each case of distributors separately with the minister giving them a detailed picture of who cooperates and who does not, as well as the efforts made by the Department of Road Transport to obtain information from other sources such as the competent authority in New Zealand and forward it to vehicle owners. For both the positive and the negative, the minister informed that he will proceed with the name and shame practice of distributors who do not cooperate if the Legal Service gives its consent.
If the Legal Service takes a different view, it is not excluded that the names of distributors who do not cooperate may be made public by Parliament's Committee on Transport.
Regarding the recalls, due to the inability of distributors' crews to proceed as quickly as possible with the replacement of airbags, the minister informed about the intention to take over electricians and engineers licensed by the Department of Electrical and Mechanical Services. There are 100 electricians and 1,500 auto mechanics who can help speed up the completion of recalls. It is noted that the critical factor that will determine the rate of replacement of airbags is their availability in stock to manufacturers and the financial ability of distributors to pre-purchase them.
Therefore, the aim is for dealers to cooperate with vehicle owners, to bring spare parts as soon as possible and to increase the exchange rate.
Essentially, the Minister informed MPs that valid and timely information directly from manufacturers is delayed due to their own time-consuming bureaucratic procedures. There is concern for imported vehicles, since there is always the possibility that it does not fully cover the history of the vehicle from the date of export from Japan to the date of import in Cyprus and therefore for some vehicles it is incorrect.
Furthermore, it is being studied whether the Department of Road Transport will manage the possibility of closing the information gap for those cars that were not manufactured according to European standards.
Please note that for cars imported through parallel trade and not included in a recall information chain, manufacturers, dealers, distributors and importers did not cooperate and did not inform each other of serious risks that users may face.
At the same time, the Ministry of Transport has informed that in the European Union responsibilities are defined by Regulation 2018/858 which states that in order to ensure a high level of safety for all vehicles placed on the market, the manufacturer or other economic operator in the supply chain should take appropriate corrective measures when a vehicle presents a serious risk to users, including vehicle recall.
Where a vehicle first placed on the market by importers presents a serious risk, they shall immediately take corrective action under the supervision of the manufacturer, including withdrawal from the market or recall. They shall immediately inform both approval authorities and market surveillance authorities.
Where the surveillance authority establishes that a vehicle presents a serious risk to health and safety, it shall require the economic operator to take all corrective measures to ensure that the vehicle, when put into service, no longer presents any risk.
Waiting for two opinions before issuing a decree
He briefed the parliamentary committee on Transport, which was held yesterday by the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Alexis Vafeadis, on the progress of the issue that arose with the Takata airbags, in the presence of the Director of the Department of Road Transport, George Loukas. The President of the Committee, Marinos Mousioutas, stressed the need for all owners of vehicles with defective airbags to be immediately and clearly informed. The aim, he said, is to ensure that all owners of vehicles equipped with defective airbags are immediately and clearly informed of the risks and possible actions to follow.
However, he noted, this process did not go as originally planned, as the response from importing companies was not as expected. Some of them cooperated fully, providing the necessary data to register and notify car owners. On the other hand, others did not respond adequately, delaying the full information of citizens.
According to the President of the Commission, the Ministry, in order to ensure that the actions to resolve the issue are fully legal and effective, is awaiting two legal opinions from the Legal Service. These opinions, he noted, will determine the legal way in which the treatment of the issue will be incorporated into the decrees to be issued, to ensure the proper implementation of the measures and the protection of consumer rights.
"The Ministry and relevant bodies are making continuous efforts to address the serious issue of defective airbags. Despite the difficulties that have arisen, actions continue vigorously, with the aim of protecting public safety and restoring normality. Cooperation with importing companies and other bodies, the development of new procedures and legislative support will contribute to the smooth and effective solution of the problem, while citizens will be informed and protected as soon as possible", Mr. Moussioutas concluded.
