A Chinese repair company accuses Tesla of restricting independent garages’ access to software needed to service its vehicles.
Tesla is facing a Chinese antitrust lawsuit accusing the US electric-vehicle maker of abusing its market dominance by restricting independent repairers’ access to software needed to service and repair its vehicles, MLex has learned.
Shenzhen-based Xunwei New Energy Vehicle Technical Services sued Tesla in the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court over access to Toolbox, the automaker’s diagnostic software platform. Xunwei alleges that Tesla abused its dominance in the market for repair services for Tesla-brand vehicles by refusing to trade, it is said.
Xunwei alleges that Tesla stopped allowing independent repairers in mainland China to subscribe to Toolbox around September 2024, while continuing to make the software available in other markets.
The case is now before China’s Supreme People’s Court after Tesla appealed a jurisdictional ruling.
Some simple repairs can still be performed without Toolbox, but repairs involving electronic and electrical components require access to the software for functions such as configuration and matching replacement components to a vehicle, MLex was told.
Xunwei argues that Tesla is required under China’s regulatory framework to make such repair technology available to independent repairers.
The restriction is particularly significant for owners of vehicles that are no longer under warranty because independent workshops can offer substantially cheaper repairs than Tesla’s own service network, it is said.
The plaintiff in the case has also filed a complaint with China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, or SAMR, over the alleged conduct. The antitrust regulator has met representatives of the repairer to discuss the complaint, MLex understands, but there has been no known further development.
Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The dispute comes as Chinese policymakers seek to boost consumption and expand consumer choice in the country's broader auto aftermarket, including the growing market for electric-vehicle repairs.
In June, the Ministry of Commerce, SAMR and seven other government agencies called on automakers to expand repair and spare-parts channels for new-energy vehicles and said consumers shouldn't be restricted in choosing where to have their cars maintained. The policy also encourages EV and battery manufacturers to open up access to repair technology and improve the availability of aftermarket repair services for new-energy vehicles.
China's antitrust guidelines for the automotive industry already identify access to repair information, testing equipment and repair tools as important to competition in automotive aftermarkets. The guidelines say an automaker with a dominant position in its brand-specific aftermarket shouldn't, without justification, restrict access to repair information, testing equipment or repair tools.
Similar concerns over access to repair data and parts have emerged across China's broader EV market. MLex reported last year that independent repairers faced difficulties servicing electric vehicles from a range of brands, while consumers complained of limited repair choices and high maintenance costs.
Source: MLex
