Transparency: what are your membership fees actually used for?

Published on 2026-03-26

The Automobile Federation of Belgium – Independent is a non-profit organisation (ASBL). By definition, it has no objective of personal enrichment.

👉 100% of membership fees are fully reinvested with a single purpose: to structure the Federation, defend independent garage owners and concretely improve their working conditions.

Since its creation, the Federation has already committed significant human, technical and financial resources to lay solid, credible and sustainable foundations. Here is what your membership fee concretely finances:

1. A solid, legal and credible structure

Setting up a serious federation requires an impeccable framework:

Creation and formalisation of the non-profit organisation (statutes, official publication, legal obligations).
Specialised legal support (particularly in competition law).
Professional accounting and administrative monitoring.
Official registered office and legal structure.
Insurance (civil liability, legal protection).

Objective: Guarantee a credible, secure Federation recognised by all players in the sector.

2. Development of digital tools and the Fedauto website

The Federation invests in modern tools to be efficient and structured:

Creation and development of the fedauto.eu website.
Hosting, maintenance and continuous improvements.
Implementation of secure member databases.
Communication and internal management tools.

Currently under development:

Dedicated member portal.
Practical tools for garages.
Centralisation of information and services.

Objective: Build a professional platform that is useful in your daily operations.

3. Concrete negotiations to improve your conditions

A large part of our work is strategic and carried out upstream:

Negotiations with suppliers (fuel, spare parts, insurance).
Advanced discussions with automotive platforms.
Market analysis and review of existing conditions.
Structuring of sustainable partnerships.

Objective: Reduce your costs, improve your margins and rebalance the balance of power.

4. Communication and representation of the profession

To be heard, you need to be visible and structured:

Development of communications (website, social media, materials).
Group management and national coordination.
Preparation of supervised and professional collective actions.

Objective: Give a strong and credible voice to independent garage owners.

5. Network development: our key factor

This is where everything comes together. The strength of the Federation rests solely on the number of members.

The more members we have,
The more vehicles, volume and turnover we represent,
The more indispensable we become to service providers.

It is this volume that makes it possible to negotiate real discounts on fuel, obtain better conditions on spare parts, renegotiate insurance and carry real weight with automotive platforms.

Without volume, no serious negotiation is possible. With significant volume, everything becomes negotiable. Membership fees therefore also serve to structure and accelerate this collective build-up of power.

6. Tools and services under development

The Federation is also building solutions to support garages:

Market analysis tools (prices, trends, profitability).
Solutions to simplify daily management.
Shared services accessible exclusively to members.
Strategic guidance and targeted information.

Objective: Deliver concrete and measurable value in your daily work.

A membership fee that should pay for itself

The annual membership fee (€300 excl. VAT) is not a cost. It is an investment. A single improvement obtained (on fuel, insurance, a platform…) can easily cover this amount.

A collective project, built from the ground up

The Automobile Federation of Belgium – Independent is driven by industry professionals, for professionals. It is not the federation of a few individuals. It is the federation of all garage owners who decide to unite.

In conclusion

The Federation has only one lever: you.

Numbers create strength.
Numbers create credibility.
Numbers make negotiation possible.

Without you, nothing changes. With you, everything becomes possible.