2023 New York Laws › VAT - Vehicle and Traffic › Title 4 - Registration of Vehicles › Article 17-A - Franchised Motor Vehicle Dealer Act › 462 - Definitions.

§ 462. Definitions. Whenever used in this article:
1.  "Distributor"  means  any  person  who  primarily offers, sells or
distributes new motor vehicles to franchised motor  vehicle  dealers  or
maintains distributor representatives within the state.
2.  "Distributor  branch"  means  a  branch  office  maintained  by  a
distributor which offers, sells or distributes  new  motor  vehicles  to
franchised motor vehicle dealers in this state.
3.  "Distributor  representative" means a representative employed by a
distributor branch or distributor.
4. "Factory branch" means a branch office maintained for directing and
supervising the representatives of the manufacturer or which  office  is
maintained for the sale of motor vehicles.
5.  "Factory  representative"  means  a  representative  employed by a
factory branch for the purpose of making or promoting the sale of  motor
vehicles  or  for  supervising,  servicing,  instructing  or  contacting
franchised motor vehicle dealers or prospective motor vehicle dealers.
6.  "Franchise"  means  a  written  arrangement  for  a  definite   or
indefinite  period  in  which  a manufacturer or distributor grants to a
franchised 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, by lease or otherwise and/or pursuant to which a
franchised motor vehicle dealer purchases  and  resells  or  offers  (as
agent,  principal,  or  otherwise)  products associated with the name or
mark or related components of the franchise.
7. "Franchised motor vehicle dealer" means: (a) any person required to
be registered pursuant to section four hundred  fifteen  of  this  title
which has been granted a franchise as defined in subdivision six of this
section,   or  (b)  any  person  engaged  in  the  business  of  selling
snowmobiles,  all  terrain  vehicles  and/or  personal   watercraft   at
wholesale or retail who has been granted a franchise; provided, however,
that  any  person  primarily  engaged  in  the sale of vessels and other
marine items who  meets  the  definition  of  "dealer"  as  provided  in
subdivision one of section eight hundred ten of the general business law
shall  not  be  a  "franchised  motor  vehicle  dealer" pursuant to this
article.
8.  "Franchisor"  means  any  manufacturer,  distributor,  distributor
branch  or  factory  branch,  importer  or  other  person,  partnership,
corporation, association, or entity, whether resident  or  non-resident,
which  enters  into  or  is  presently  a  party  to  a franchise with a
franchised motor vehicle dealer.
8-a. "Good faith" means, in addition to any common law definitions  of
that  term, honesty in fact and the observation of reasonable commercial
standards of fair dealing in the trade.
9.  "Manufacturer"  means  any   person,   partnership,   corporation,
association,  factory  branch or other entity engaged in the business of
manufacturing or assemblying new and unused motor vehicles for  sale  in
this state.
10. "Motor vehicle" means: (a) any motor vehicle as defined in section
one  hundred  twenty-five of this chapter, (b) any snowmobile as defined
in article forty-seven of this chapter, (c) any all terrain  vehicle  as
defined  in  article  forty-eight-B of this chapter and (d) any personal
watercraft as defined in section two of the navigation law, provided the
commissioner shall have authority to except by regulation vehicles other
than passenger automobiles, trucks and motorcycles from such definition.
11. "New motor vehicle" means a  vehicle  sold  or  transferred  by  a
manufacturer,  distributor  or  dealer,  which  has  not  been placed in
consumer use or used as a demonstrator.
12. "New motor vehicle product" means any motor vehicle  which  is  of
the  same  line  make of motor vehicle as those which the franchisor has
authorized its existing franchised motor vehicle dealers to  sell  under
the existing franchises between franchised motor vehicle dealers and the
franchisor.
13.  "Line make" means all models of a specific brand of motor vehicle
manufactured by a manufacturer that may manufacture several brands, each
of which are a separate line of make; except that, as such term  applies
to  the sale of any new house coach, means that group or those groups of
house coaches, as defined by the terms of the written franchise.
14. Notwithstanding the provisions of section one hundred nineteen  of
this  chapter, for purposes of this article the term "house coach" shall
mean any vehicle motivated by a power connected therewith  or  propelled
by  a power within itself, which is designed to provide temporary living
quarters, and which is built  onto,  as  an  integral  part  of,  or  is
permanently  attached  to a motor vehicle chassis, and contains at least
four of the following  independent  life  support  systems  if  each  is
permanently  installed  and  designed to be removed only for purposes of
repair or replacement and meets the standards of the  American  National
Standards Institute for recreation vehicles:
(a) a cooking facility with an on-board fuel source;
(b) a gas or electric refrigerator;
(c) a toilet with exterior evacuation;
(d)  a  heating  or  air conditioning system with an on-board power or
fuel source separate from the vehicle engine;
(e) a potable water supply system that includes at  least  a  sink,  a
faucet and a water tank with an exterior service supply connection; and
(f) a 110-125 volt electric power supply.
15. "Relevant market area" means:
(a) if the proposed additional or relocated motor vehicle dealer is to
be  located  in  a  county  having a population in excess of one hundred
thousand, the area within the radius of six miles of the  intended  site
of  the  proposed  or  relocated dealer. Such six mile distance shall be
determined by  measuring  the  distance  between  the  nearest  surveyed
boundary  of  the existing new motor vehicle dealer's principal place of
business and the nearest surveyed  boundary  line  of  the  proposed  or
relocated new motor vehicle dealer's place of business; or
(b) if the proposed additional or relocated motor vehicle dealer is to
be  within  a  county  having  a  population  of  less  than one hundred
thousand, the area within the radius of ten miles of the  intended  site
of  the  proposed  or  relocated dealer. Such ten mile distance shall be
determined by  measuring  the  distance  between  the  nearest  surveyed
boundary line of the existing new motor vehicle dealer's principal place
of  business  and  the nearest surveyed boundary line of the proposed or
relocated new motor vehicle dealer's principal place of business.
In determining the population of a county, the most recent  census  by
the  U.S.  Bureau of Census or the most recent population update, either
from the National Planning Data Corporation or other similar  recognized
source, shall be used.
16.  "Captive  finance  source" means any finance source that provides
automotive-related loans, or purchases retail installment  contracts  or
lease  contracts  for  motor  vehicles  and  is, directly or indirectly,
owned, operated or controlled, in whole or in part, by  a  manufacturer,
factory branch, distributor or distributor branch.
17. "Termination" and "terminate" as such terms are used in connection
with  the  removal  of a franchise by a franchisor, means a franchisor's
proposed termination, cancellation, non-renewal, or rescission.