29. 6. 95 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 145/25 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1475/95 of 28 June 1995 on the application of Article 85 (3) of the Treaty to certain categories of motor vehicle distribution and servicing agreements THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation No 19/65/EEC of 2 March 1965 on the application of Article 85 (3) of the Treaty to certain categories of agreements and concerted practices (), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, and in particular Article 1 thereof, Having published a draft of this Regulation (), Having consulted the Advisory Committee on Restrictive Practices and Dominant Positions, Whereas : 1 (2 ) ) Under Regulation No 15/65/EEC the Commission is empowered to declare by means of a Regulation that Article 85 (3) of the Treaty applies to certain categories of agreements falling within Article 85 (1) to which only two undertakings are party and by which one party agrees with the other to supply only to that other certain goods for resale within a defined area of the common market. The expe- rience gained in dealing with many motor vehicle distribution and servicing agreements allows a cate- gory of agreement to be defined which can generally by regarded as satisfying the conditions laid down in Article 85 (3). These are agreements, for a definite or an indefinite period, by which the supplying party entrusts to the reselling party the task of promoting the distribution and servicing of certain products of the motor vehicle industry in a defined area and by which the supplier undertakes to supply contract goods for resale only to the dealer, or only to a limited number of undertakings within the distribution network besides the dealer, within the contract territory. () OJ No 36, 6. 3. 1965, p. 533/65. O] No C 379, 31. 12. 1994, p. 16. @ 3) @ A list of definitions for the purpose of this Regula- tion is set out in Article 10. Notwithstanding that the obligations listed in Articles 1, 2 and 3 normally have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition within the common market and are normally liable to affect trade between Member States, the prohibition in Article 85 (1) of the Treaty may nevertheless be declared inapplicable to these agreements by virtue of Article 85 (3), albeit only under certain restrictive conditions. The applicability of Article 85 (1) of the Treaty to distribution and servicing agreements in the motor vehicle industry stems in particular from the fact that the restrictions on competition and obligations agreed within the framework of a manufacturer’s distribution system, and listed in Articles 1 to 4 of this Regulation, are generally imposed in the same or similar form throughout the common market. The motor vehicle manufacturers cover the whole common market or substantial parts of it by means of a cluster of agreements involving similar restric- tions on competition and affect in this way not only distribution and servicing within Member States but also trade between them. The exclusive and selective distribution clauses can be regarded as indispensable measures of rationaliz- ation in the motor vehicle industry, because motor vehicles are consumer durables which at both regular and irregular intervals require expert main- tenance and repair, not always in the same place. Motor vehicle manufacturers cooperate with the selected dealers and repairers in order to provide specialized servicing for the product. On grounds of capacity and efficiency alone, such a form of cooperation cannot be extended to an unlimited number of dealers and repairers. The linking of servicing and distribution must be regarded as more efficient than a separation between a distribu- tion organization for new vehicles on the one hand and a servicing organization which would also