• The Pfister motion aimed to strengthen the protection of car dealers and service providers in Switzerland by safeguarding them from unfair practices by car importers and manufacturers. Specifically, the motion called for binding rules on termination protection (at least 2 years of protection, Art. 8 KFZV) and contract design (e.g., allowing multi-brand distribution, Art. 7 KFZV).
• As a result, the Federal Council transferred the so-called car announcement (KFZ-Bek 19) of the Competition Commission (WEKO) into a legally binding ordinance (KFZV) as of January 1, 2024.
• This change is a major success for Swiss garage owners: The dealer protection provisions are now binding for all courts and authorities, ensuring their rights to termination protection, multi-brand distribution, access to diagnostic devices and tools, etc.

Overview:

Motion text (18.3898 | Effective enforcement of antitrust law in the automotive trade | Business | The Swiss Parliament)

Federal Council's statement (18.3898 | Effective enforcement of antitrust law in the automotive trade | Business | The Swiss Parliament)

The motion 22.3838 aims to bring (genuine) agency contracts under the protection of antitrust law and the KFZV (dealer protection regulations). Currently, genuine agents are not protected, meaning that suppliers (importers and manufacturers) can make the following agreements without antitrust consequences:

• Termination conditions according to the Swiss Code of Obligations: usually 2 months (➝ for comparison: under the KFZV, a termination protection of 2 years applies!)
• Standardization of final sales prices for Swiss end customers (➝ exacerbating the high-price island Switzerland issue);
• Ban on parallel imports;
• Ban on multi-brand distribution;
• Etc.

The goal is to ensure that genuine agents are also covered by dealer protection (KFZV) and antitrust law. The motion aims to achieve this by requiring suppliers to comply before implementation.

• Factsheet
• Parliamentary Debate:
  • National Council: Motion adopted with 141 to 41 votes on February 28, 2024 (Link to results)
  • Council of States: Vote on March 19, 2025
• Motion text: Link to motion text
• Federal Council's statement: Link to statement