What is SERMI?

According to regulation (EU) no. 2018/858, which came into effect in 2020, vehicle manufacturers are obliged to grant independent operators, such as independent shops or editors of technical information unlimited and standardized access to repair and service information (RMI).

Special provisions have been determined for the access to the safety functions of a vehicle. Access to safety-relevant repair and service information (RMI) shall be granted to independent operators, however, by protecting the safety standards and security certificates and under the condition that independent operators and their employees are certified for this purpose by having specific documents and specifications.

For this purpose and according to article 13 paragraph 9 of the Regulation (EG) no. 692/2008 and article 66 of the Regulation (EU) no. 2018/858 the "EU forum for the access to vehicle information" has been founded. The goal is the development of a uniform accreditation system and a process structure across Europe which shall help independent operators to service and repair vehicles in a safe manner if the safety features of the vehicles (e.g. software updates) are affected.

Sweden started the introduction at the 1 October 2023 as the first country. As the start at a certain date could be realized for all countries in the EU, the countries will start in 2 month intervals between the 1 October 2023 and the 1 August 2024.

After Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway (independent participation in SERMI as non-EU country) started with the SERMI process by the 1 February 2024.

Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Spain will follow on the 1 April 2024.

In Switzerland, which is a non-EU country, there is also a discussion about a potential participation. UK also intends to join the SERMI Regulation. As already mentioned, Norway is currently the only non-EU country, which already follows the SERMI scheme.

It is still mostly unknown in which cases we can access in practice to anti-theft and safety-relevant vehicle information in the manufacturer portals. Another fact is that every manufacturer self-defines the information which are SERMI-relevant. Hence there may be differences when requesting SERMI-relevant information from different manufacturers.

We know that a request of SERMI-relevant information in the manufacturer portal requires the authorization of the shop employee via the SERMI app. That means the access to certain information is denied without the certification.

The following companies are affected by the certification process:

• Repair shops,
• Producers or dealers of shop equipment, tools or spare parts,
• Editors of technical information,
• Automobile associations,
• Roadside assistance services,
• Providers of service work and test services,
• Institutions for training and advanced training of mechanics,
• Producers and repair teams of vehicle equipment,

SERMI will mainly affect the vehicle categories M (vehicles for passenger transportation), N (vehicles for transport of goods), and O (trailers). For certain vehicles, the manufacturer can apply for a type approval or single vehicle approval provided that these vehicles fulfil the requirements of this regulation. This is valid e.g. for vehicles which are designed and produced for the predominant use on construction sites or in harbors / airports.

Hella Gutmann is also affected by the SERMI regulation and will get the SERMI certification as company and for the technical employees involved in that as we also require information from the manufacturers which are necessary for our Technical Help Line and the macsRemote services. Our location on Denmark already has the SERMI certification. The location in Germany is currently in the certification process.

We do not know the concrete effects on our products and services yet, because we and the whole workshop sector no not know details for the modified processing of vehicle information in the maufacturer portal.

A message with the appropriate QR-code appears if SERMI-relevant contents are retrieved directly by a shop in the manufacturer portal. The customer scans this code with the SERMI app and it is hence verified. The request is activated in the manufacturer portal afterwards.

Both patries shall verify themselves in case of a shop request via Hella Gutmann. In this case an employee at Hella Gutmann first scans the QR code in the manufacturer portal with the SERMI app. Then he creates a links for the shop in the app, so that the shop can also activate the request in the app.  Access to the data in the manufacturer portal is granted only after both parties have verified themselves via the SERMI app.

The conformity assessment bodies of every country will inform you about the specific documents and information that you require to get the certification as company and as employee of this company.

In general a country requires a certificate that confirms that the company is part of the automotive sector and that it a has a certain insurance coverage. If necessary, the employees shall submit a certificate of good conduct. Furthermore you will require a device on which the SERMI app is installed with your profile.

Normally, the certification process is realized via online form of the conformity assessment body. Then the shop can use the account to access its certification data and e.g. it can add new authorized employees.

Countries, which already have a start date, have one or more conformity assessment bodies (CABs) in the prevailing country.

A list of all conformity assessment bodies (CAB) of your country as well as of all EU countries can be found here:
https://www.vehiclesermi.eu/req.html#req

There is no information if the conformity assessment bodies (CAB) of the non-EU countries are going to be published on this website.

The conformity assessment bodies (CABs) are currently specifying their prices only upon request for certification. The costs vary depending on the provider. However, costs normally arise for the registration of the shop and the single employees. Additional costs may arise when visiting a shop unplanned during the 5-year validity period and also when the certificate is refreshed after validity has expired.

Indeed the SERMI argument is similar to the justification of some manufacturers for the access lock to the system data of their latest vehicle models à la Security Gateway. The first here was the Fiat-Chrysler Group. The others followed the trend. As an answer to this trend Hella Gutmann has made huge efforts to implement the function Cyber Security Management (CSM) function (free for shops) into the mega macs software. A function which is worth a mint because communication with the secured vehicles would no longer be possible without it. Finally Cyber Security of Hella Gutmann marks the worldwide access to modern vehicles of 13 makes, to enable access for selected diagnostic procedures such as trouble code deletion with the diagnostic device.

The SERMI regulation is somewhat different: In particular it deals with the access to anti-theft and safety-relevant RMI in the manufacturer portals. Moreover, the EU type approval regulation 2018/858 affects all vehicle manufacturers and their vehicles which are in the market in the 27 EU countries.

Should there be any overlaps during single work steps, we will inform you about that, too.