The Cyprus Motor Vehicle Importers Association issued a final appeal to parliament to amend a proposed vehicle recall law scheduled for voting on Thursday, warning it could lead to widespread disruption in the automotive sector.
The association said in a statement that passing the bill in its current form would create insurmountable problems, with many vehicles potentially facing extended periods of immobilisation, regardless of whether the recalls are safety-related or not.
The importers highlighted several critical issues with the current proposal, including the lack of a recall classification system to prioritise safety-related issues, and insufficient provisions for automatic and timely information sharing about recalls for vehicles without European type approval.
The group also expressed concerns about the proposed five-day deadline for general distributors to issue certificates for vehicle registration, ownership transfers and technical inspections, saying the workload implications had not been properly assessed.
The association warned that the unprecedented tight timeframes for all recalls, regardless of their severity, could lead to the immobilisation of a significant number of vehicles in Cyprus.
They said it had fully briefed both the Ministry of Transport, the Road Transport Department, and the House Transport Committee about the potential market disruption, but its suggestions had not been adopted.
The organisation stated it would not accept responsibility for any problems or inconvenience to vehicle owners if parliament approves the bill without amendments.
The proposal is set to go before the full parliament on Thursday.
Faulty Takata airbags have been linked to several deaths and injuries globally. Cyprus has confirmed two deaths caused by faulty Takata airbags.
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