Hanvey’s last stand: ACA CEO talks right to repair and retirement
LAS VEGAS—After over a decade leading the Auto Care Association, Bill Hanvey is retiring June 30, 2027. The executive sat down with John Hitch at AAPEX 2026 for a frank conversation on his tenure at ACA, the current state of the auto aftermarket, and what really happened with the REPAIR Act after he testified before Congress earlier this year. Some parts of the legislation were moved to another bill, the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act, in May, but a major point of contention was that telematics access was not addressed. A week before AAPEX, General Motors settled with several states for $220 million because the automaker was found to have sold driver data that was eventually acquired by insurance companies. This is something Hanvey warned about.
Specifically on the cost of data lockouts, Hanvey said that, "On average, when [independent repairers] have to send this car back to the dealer because they're not able to access the data, they'll spend four hours trying to diagnose that vehicle.
The question becomes: Who pays for that extra diagnostic time?
"Do you eat it?" he asked. "Either way, the shop owner or the fleet owner, or the fleet maintenance barn is in big trouble."
Listen to the podcast for the whole conversation.
Timestamps:
- 1:06 – Hanvey's career background
- 4:19 – Current Status of the REPAIR Act
- 11:49 – Indie shop data lockout: Real or imagined?
- 16:15 – Data monetization and privacy
- 21:54 – Next legislative steps
Access to repair information
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About the Author
John HitchJohn Hitch
Editor-in-chief, Fleet Maintenance
John Hitch is the award-winning editor-in-chief of Fleet Maintenance, where his mission is to provide maintenance leaders and technicians with the the latest information on tools, strategies, and best practices to keep their fleets' commercial vehicles moving.
He is based out of Cleveland, Ohio, and has worked in the B2B journalism space for more than a decade. Hitch was previously senior editor for FleetOwner and before that was technology editor for IndustryWeek, and managing editor of New Equipment Digest.
Hitch graduated from Kent State University and was editor of the student magazine The Burr in 2009.
The former sonar technician served honorably aboard the fast-attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723), where he participated in counter-drug ops, an under-ice expedition, and other missions he's not allowed to talk about for several more decades.
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Right to Repair
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