The automotive sector is one of the sectors in which product safety legislation is applied most intensively. A design defect in a single component can affect thousands of vehicles; for this reason, the responsibilities of the manufacturer, the importer and the authorised dealer are closely interlinked. Law No. 7223 on Product Safety and Technical Regulations has been the principal legislation in this field since March 2021.

Only safe products may be placed on the market

The fundamental principle of the Law is that only safe products may be placed on the market. The manufacturer is obliged to ensure and demonstrate the conformity of the product with the relevant technical regulations. The importer checks that the conformity assessment has been carried out and that the documents are complete. The distributor, for its part, may not make available on the market a product that it knows or ought to know is unsafe.

Recall and withdrawal

If a product is found to be unsafe after it has been placed on the market, the manufacturer is obliged to take the corrective action necessary to eliminate the risk and to notify the market surveillance and inspection authority. In the automotive sector, this obligation appears in practice in the form of recall campaigns in which vehicle owners are called to authorised service centres. The authority may also prohibit the placing on the market of an unsafe product and order its withdrawal or recall.

Strict manufacturer liability

One of the important innovations of the Law is that, where a product causes the death of or bodily injury to a person, or damage to other property, the manufacturer is held liable for the damage irrespective of fault. The injured party, however, bears the burden of proving the causal link between the damage and the non-conformity of the product. The Law also sets out the limited circumstances in which the manufacturer may be released from liability, as well as special limitation periods.

Warranty and repair period for motor vehicles

For vehicles sold to consumers, Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection and the Regulation on Warranty Certificates also apply:

• The warranty period begins on the date of delivery of the vehicle and may not be less than two years.
• The maximum repair period for a vehicle handed in for repair during the warranty period is thirty working days for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles.
• In cases such as the repair exceeding this period or the same fault recurring, the consumer may exercise their rights under the provisions on defective goods, such as replacement of the vehicle, refund of the price or a price reduction.

Assessment

In the field of product safety, the most important point for the manufacturer is to act quickly and in a documented manner from the moment a risk emerges. Delay in fulfilling the notification obligation may lead to administrative sanctions and also weakens the manufacturer’s position in any compensation actions. For the consumer, following up on recall notices and keeping records of faults arising during the warranty period form the basis of the rights that may be asserted in the future.