2021 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 56 - Motor Vehicles
Chapter 15 - Regulation Of Manufacturers, Distributors And Dealers
Section 56-15-10. Definitions.

As used in this chapter the following words shall, unless the text otherwise requires, have the following meanings:

(a) "Motor vehicle", means any motor driven vehicle required to be registered pursuant to Section 56-3-110. This definition does not include motorcycles, new recreational vehicles as defined in Section 56-14-10, or mopeds.

(b) "Manufacturer," any person engaged in the business of manufacturing or assembling new and unused motor vehicles.

(c) "Factory branch," a branch office maintained by a manufacturer which manufactures or assembles motor vehicles for sale to distributors or motor vehicle dealers or which is maintained for directing and supervising the representatives of the manufacturer.

(d) "Distributor branch", a branch office maintained by a distributor who or which sells or distributes new motor vehicles to motor vehicle dealers.

(e) "Factory representative," a representative employed by a manufacturer or employed by a factory branch for the purpose of making or promoting the sale or motor vehicles or for supervising, servicing, instructing or contracting with motor vehicle dealers or prospective motor vehicle dealers.

(f) "Distributor representative", a representative employed by a distributor branch or distributor.

(g) "Distributor", any person who sells or distributes new motor vehicles to motor vehicle dealers or who maintains distributor representatives within the State.

(h) "Dealer" or "motor vehicle dealer", any person who sells or attempts to effect the sale of any motor vehicle. These terms do not include:

(1) manufacturers, distributors, or wholesalers;

(2) receivers, trustees, administrators, executors, guardians, or other persons appointed by or acting under the judgment or order of any court;

(3) public officers while performing their official duties;

(4) persons disposing of motor vehicles acquired for their own use and so used in good faith and not for the purpose of avoiding the provisions of law. Any person who effects or attempts to effect the sale of more than five motor vehicles in any one calendar year is considered a dealer or wholesaler, as appropriate, for purposes of this chapter;

(5) finance companies or other financial institutions who sell repossessed motor vehicles and insurance companies who sell motor vehicles they own as an incident to payments made under policies of insurance; or

(6) a South Carolina dealer that conducts the auction of investment grade or collector motor vehicles not more than three days per year and that:

(a) has obtained a surety bond in the amount of one million dollars;

(b) provides this service for an entity organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;

(c) possesses during the event all vehicle titles unencumbered by liens; and

(d) is responsible for ensuring all taxes are paid and all vehicles have been registered and titled property.

This subitem shall not permit any other temporary retail auctions or any other retail auctions of consignment vehicles.

(i) "Franchise," an oral or written arrangement for a definite or indefinite period in which a manufacturer, distributor or wholesaler grants to a motor vehicle dealer a license to use a trade name, service mark, or related characteristic, and in which there is a community of interest in the marketing of motor vehicles or services related thereto at wholesale, retail, leasing or otherwise.

(j) "Franchisor" a manufacturer, distributor, or wholesaler who grants a franchise to a motor vehicle dealer.

(k) "Franchisee," a motor vehicle dealer to whom a franchise is offered or granted.

(l) "Sale", shall include the issuance, transfer, agreement for transfer, exchange, pledge, hypothecation, mortgage in any form, whether by transfer in trust or otherwise, of any motor vehicle or interest therein or of any franchise related thereto; and any option, lease, subscription or other contract, or solicitation, looking to a sale, or offer or attempt to sell in any form, whether spoken or written. A gift or delivery of any motor vehicle or franchise with respect thereto with, or as, a bonus on account of the sale of anything shall be deemed a sale of such motor vehicle or franchise.

(m) "Fraud," shall include, in addition to its normal legal connotation, the following: a misrepresentation in any manner, whether intentionally false or due to gross negligence, of a material fact; a promise or representation not made honestly and in good faith; and an intentional failure to disclose a material fact.

(n) "Person," a natural person, corporation, partnership, trust or other entity, and, in case of an entity, it shall include any other entity in which it has a majority interest or effectively controls as well as the individual officers, directors and other persons in active control of the activities of each such entity.

(o) "New motor vehicle," a motor vehicle which has not been previously sold to any person except a distributor or wholesaler or motor vehicle dealer for resale.

(p) "Wholesaler" or "motor vehicle wholesaler", any person who sells or attempts to effect the sale of any used motor vehicle exclusively to motor vehicle dealers or to other wholesalers.

(q) Reserved.

(r) "Due cause" means a material breach by a dealer of a lawful provision of a franchise or selling agreement that is not cured within a reasonable period of time after being given prior written notice of the specific material breach.

(s) "Material breach" means a contract violation that is substantial and significant.

(t) "Investment grade vehicle", a motor vehicle not currently sold by a franchised motor vehicle dealer and not in current production with a value that exceeds two hundred fifty thousand dollars.

(u) "Collector motor vehicle", a motor vehicle that is at least twenty years old.

(v) "Charity vehicle", a donated vehicle for which the net proceeds go to charity.

(w) "Special interest vehicle", a unique vehicle of rarity, originality, unique or special coachwork, or previous ownership of significance that is not or has not been mass produced.

(x) "Consumer data" has the same meaning as "nonpublic personal information", as defined in 15 U.S.C. Section 6809(4), and that is collected by a dealer and provided directly to a manufacturer or third party acting on behalf of a manufacturer. "Consumer data" does not include the same or similar data obtained by a manufacturer from any source other than the dealer or dealer's data management system.

(y)(1) "Data management system" means a computer hardware or software system that:

(a) is owned, leased, or licensed by a dealer, including a system of web-based applications, computer software, or computer hardware;

(b) is located at the dealership or hosted remotely; and

(c) stores and provides access to consumer data collected or stored by a dealer.

(2) "Data management system" includes, but shall not be limited to, dealership management systems and customer relations management systems.

(z) "New motor vehicle dealer" means a dealer that:

(1) buys, sells, exchanges, offers, or attempts to negotiate a sale or exchange of an interest in new, or new and used, motor vehicles; or

(2) engages, wholly or in part, in the business of selling new, or new and used, motor vehicles.

(aa) "Relevant market area" means:

(1) an area within a ten mile radius around an existing dealer, for purposes of the relocation of an existing dealership; and

(2) an area within a fifteen mile radius around an existing dealer, for purposes of the addition of a new dealer to the market.

(bb) "Stop-Sale Order" means a notification issued by a manufacturer to its franchised new motor vehicle dealers stating that certain used vehicles in inventory may not be sold or leased, at either retail or wholesale, due to a federal safety recall for a defect or noncompliance, or a federal emissions recall.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 46-150.151; 1972 (57) 2419; 1983 Act No. 118 Sections 4-8; 1984 Act No. 511, Section 2; 1988 Act No. 603, Section 1; 1993 Act No. 181, Section 1483; 1996 Act No. 459, Section 246A; 2013 Act No. 44, Section 1, eff June 7, 2013; 2017 Act No. 51 (S.321), Sections 2, 3, eff November 19, 2017; 2017 Act No. 89 (H.3247), Section 29, eff November 19, 2018; 2018 Act No. 225 (H.4795), Sections 1, 2, eff May 18, 2018; 2021 Act No. 31 (S.510), Sections 1, 2, eff August 4, 2021.

Code Commissioner's Note

At the direction of the Code Commissioner, the amendments in (a) made by 2017 Act No. 51, Section 2, effective November 19, 2017, and 2017 Act No. 89, Section 29, effective November 19, 2018, were read together.

Editor's Note

2017 Act No. 51, Section 7, provides:

"This act takes effect six months after approval by the Governor and applies to manufacturer/dealer agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2018."

2021 Act No. 31, Section 14, provides as follows:

"SECTION 14. This act takes effect ninety days after approval by the Governor and applies to all current and future franchises and other agreements in existence between any franchisee located in this State and a franchisor as of the effective date of this act."

Effect of Amendment

2017 Act No. 51, Section 2, in (a), substituted "pursuant to" for "under", and added ", or new recreational vehicles as defined in Section 56-14-10".

2017 Act No. 51, Section 3, reserved (q), which had related to the definition of "motor home".

2017 Act No. 89, Section 29, in (a), inserted "or mopeds".

2018 Act No. 225, Section 1, in (h), added (6), revising the definition of "dealer" to exclude certain persons conducting auctions of investment grade or collector motor vehicles, and made nonsubstantive changes.

2018 Act No. 225, Section 2, added (t) to (w), relating to the definitions of "Investment grade vehicle", "Collector motor vehicle", "Charity vehicle", and "Special interest vehicle", respectively.

2021 Act No. 31, Section 1, in (h)(1), substituted "manufacturers, distributors," for "distributors"; in (j), substituted "Franchisor" for "Franchiser" and made a nonsubstantive change; and in (l), in the first sentence, inserted "lease," following "and any option,".

2021 Act No. 31, Section 2, added (x) to (bb).