Thatcham passes on parts certification
Thatcham Research has decided to hand over all aftermarket parts certification activities to its current partner TÜV Rheinland AG.
The move follows an in-depth review and assessment of the certification of aftermarket car parts, and consultation with its Insurance Members.
The Thatcham Research/TÜV Rheinland partnership will officially end on 31 March 2018, with Thatcham Research not providing any new aftermarket parts certification services as of 1 January 2018.
The move allows Thatcham Research to invest more resources into the priority areas of active safety systems and vehicle structures/materials, that are increasingly contributing to repair costs. In parallel, the company is also gearing-up its investment in countering the growing risk of cyber theft of vehicles.
Peter Shaw, chief executive of Thatcham Research commented, ‘A healthy aftermarket parts supply is vitally important for the UK repair industry. However, we need to make key strategic decisions to ensure that we are addressing current and evolving challenges for the repair and insurance industries. This move will allow us to achieve this, while at the same time handing over the certification of aftermarket parts to a trusted and qualified partner to ensure consistency now and in the future.’
Massimo Bianchi, business stream manager mobility TÜV Rheinland Italy, said, ‘We believe that certification of equivalent parts is very important to answer the need of the market of high quality spare replacement parts. Voluntary independent certification of products is one of TÜV Rheinland’s core businesses and increases the trust in customers.’
Together Thatcham Research and TÜV Rheinland have provided aftermarket certification services for the past nine years, and there are more than 1.800 parts certified under the scheme.
Within the automotive sector TÜV Rheinland is active with both aftermarket and vehicle manufacturers, providing whole vehicle system and component type approval, testing and Market Access Services.
