Liability for customer specifications from the perspective of an automotive supplier
In the automotive industry, close cooperation between original equipment manufactur-ers (OEMs) and suppliers is essential. The OEM typically assumes overall responsibil-ity for the vehicle concept, provides the supplier with functional requirements and often also specifies specific technical requirements for individual components. The suppliers, in turn, implement these requirements and develop the corresponding components, which then proceed to series production.
The division of duties raises important questions regarding the allocation of liability:
- Is the supplier liable for design defects if these are based on binding specifications pro-vided by the OEM?
- Is the supplier obliged to critically examine the specifications?
- And is the supplier liable for damage resulting from such specifications?
In this whitepaper, Thorsten Deeg and Daniel Wuhrmann outline the conditions under which a supplier can be exempt from liability for design defects, particularly when these defects are based on binding specifications from the OEM, and highlights the significance of the Stuttgart Regional Court’s case law in this context.
