The Bundeskartellamt, Germany's competition authority, has announced that it has no competition law concerns regarding a new initiative in the automotive industry focused on standardizing the production of wire harnesses. This initiative, known as the 'Innovation Initiative Wire Harness' (IIWH), is part of the 'Arena2036 research campus' and involves collaboration among various companies across the automotive value chain.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, emphasized that while standardization projects involve cooperation among companies, they must adhere to competition law principles. The authority has stated that it will not object to the standardization initiative or other components of the project at this time, provided that the cooperation is aimed at promoting standardization in a non-discriminatory and transparent manner.

Wire harnesses are critical components in vehicles, encompassing nearly all wiring and representing a significant portion of production costs. As vehicles become more digital, the complexity and importance of wire harnesses are expected to increase. The current production process is largely manual and varies by vehicle type, making automation a challenging task.

The IIWH aims to develop new plug connections, cable routings, and tools to facilitate automation in wire harness production. The initiative has already produced a new standard, the first of its kind globally, which standardizes technical aspects of wire harness production processes. The project combines research and development (R&D) with standardization, raising questions about compliance with competition law, as different criteria apply to these types of cooperation.

Following guidance from the Bundeskartellamt on the legal requirements for their cooperation, the participants in the initiative have restructured their plans to clearly separate the R&D components from the standardization aspects, ensuring compliance with competition law.