According to your observations, what is the state of health in the independent auto repair sector?
For a while now, our division has been suffering heavy downturns in terms of losing thousands of worksites due to structural problems in the  market; the current scenario and the near future don't seem very optimistic. A look at data from the trends of numerical consistency in the category is enough to interpret the decreasing tendency that is worrying us most: the sum of the local combination of mechanics, car electricians, panel beaters and tyre specialists in 2001 was near 70,000 combined, decreasing to 60,000 in 2007. In terms of employment, that signifies that it has fallen from 210,000 to 180,000 employees, dropping proportionally by 14%.  

Which factors cause this drop?
The reasons for this very negative trend are numerous and are surely interacting with each other. Let's try to examine them: first of all, let's say that some of these are due to international causes which are very difficult to object since they represent economic/productive performances of structural nature that have invested, for a while now, in the automobile world. This involves, first and foremost, technological innovation applied to the automobile which has intensely changed the "auto product" making it more advanced and qualified compared to the past, more sophisticated and less in need of repair work, but also more inclined to repair services and "prevention from damages". Connected to this reason is the one relative to the strategy of after-sale that the manufacturers, the distributors, and the dealers have been adopting from a few years. Similar strategies plan on organising and structuring a "personal network" for assisting with sold products, making customers loyal to the brand, and also to help compete in the attendance and after-sale markets that present more sales of absolute interest. Similar cases produce negative effects toward independent auto repair businesses.

What are CNA's suggestions for sustaining our own members in this hard time?
CNA has presented the Government with the following suggestions:
- Reduction, also temporarily, on the VAT (value-added tax) on repairs;
- Measurement of tax relief and/or access to favorable credit terms for the motorists that need repair work done on vehicles that involve a considerably important expense;
- Incentives for Gpl and Methane systems on after-sales carried through repairs that transform them structurally, such as the case of the "first system", with measurements already in effect. Similar repairs not only represent help to families in terms of decreased spending for fuel, but also a contribution to the country which favored action of the "energetic requalification" in the circular auto fleet.

Have there already been some answers on the Government's part?
CNA considers the measure that increases the contributions for the conversion of cars to Gpl and Methane to 500 and 650 euro, respectively, (previously 350 and 500), to be particularly positive. In fact, this involves an intervention that supports the system installer business (more for the craftsman companies), as well as the families that see their receipts rise from the installation of a new ecological system.

Other initiatives?
CNA still rests at the side of the enterprise both in regards to the defence of the law and safeguarding of independent auto repairers (you can see the defence campaign for Regulation CE of 2002 on Repair Rights), as well as in the contrast of initiatives to the phenomenon of the bodywork trust. Also, thanks to the recent development of services with the backing of credit, through innovative tools like Craftsman Development, the regional level consortium of guarantee passed from the CNA which has absorbed all of our provincial consortiums and is the first trust consortium in Veneto to be authorized as a middleman from the Bank of Italy.

Where can we find the CNA?
We have a provincial head office in Verona. Tel.               045/8300219                                                                           We also have offices in the province of San Martino Buon Albergo, Cerea, Nogara, San Pietro in Cariano, and Malcesine. To locate other head offices in Veneto and Italy, we recommended that you visit their website at: www.cna.it