Important Information: Discontinuation of the erWin Webshop for Private Customers

[Tell]

Erwin seems to be doing the dirty. I got this email today:

>>
Dear erWin User,

We would like to inform you that, as of 18-12-2025, the erWin Webshop will no longer be available to private customers but exclusively to business customers.
Of course, you may continue to use your active flatrate subscriptions until the end of their contractually agreed term – even beyond the above-mentioned discontinuation date.
Should you have any questions, please contact our support team at https://seat.erwin-store.com/erwin/showRequestSupport.do .
Thank you for your understanding.

Kind regards,
Your erWin Team SEAT/CUPRA

erWin Online | SEAT S.A. |

seat.erwin-store.com

<<

 

[tracktoy]

Thats very sad, one of the few places to get good reliable information about our motor.

 

[Chris Bartram]

I got this email too, very disappointing. I remember before online access the hooky copies of manuals available online, and I thought it was a step forward to have an official, reliable source. It seems like a very backward step and I wonder what dodgy workarounds will exist.

I've got a mind to buy a short subscription again and download all the bits I think I might need.

 

[Tell]

Well you can currently register as a business user which gives you more information that has been withdrawn at the minute. The build codes against the VIN was moved into the business user area. The question is the rates in the future I guess for that. I have already down loaded all the PDFs for the two Seats we have at the time of purchase. It is a retrograde step taking away technical information for those that want to maintain their car correctly, cross check dealer information and carry out any work they want to do themselves,

 

[Chris Bartram]

It is a retrograde step taking away technical information for those that want to maintain their car correctly, cross check dealer information and carry out any work they want to do themselves,

Indeed. I don't know if they hope this might drive more people to the franchised dealers, but I haven't used a franchised dealer since the early 2000s and have no intention of doing so.

Since EU law says they have to make it available to the trade, why not private individuals? The Erwin platform has made a modest amount of money from me over the years, for essentially no additional cost to them.

 

[tracktoy]

Seen this on VCDS forum, responce from erwin on why they are closing access

And just to add to this the same thing is applied in Australia, but that is because (if the web has got it correct) in Australia you cant provide technical documents on Electric vehicles except to qualified experts, so Erwin just turned off the feed.

 

[Tell]

We'll all have to become sole traders then.

 

[Alibbeiver]

Erwin seems to be doing the dirty. I got this email today:

>>
Dear erWin User,

We would like to inform you that, as of 18-12-2025, the erWin Webshop will no longer be available to private customers but exclusively to business customers.
Of course, you may continue to use your active flatrate subscriptions until the end of their contractually agreed term – even beyond the above-mentioned discontinuation date.
Should you have any questions, please contact our support team at https://seat.erwin-store.com/erwin/showRequestSupport.do .
Thank you for your understanding.

Kind regards,
Your erWin Team SEAT/CUPRA

erWin Online | SEAT S.A. |

seat.erwin-store.com

<<

Yeah, that’s basically a classic “retail to business-only pivot”.

From a user perspective it feels abrupt, but it usually comes down to licensing cost, liability, and support overhead. OEM portals like erWin weren’t really designed to handle a large base of private users long-term, especially when you factor in payment processing, regional compliance, and support load for low-volume customers.

For business users it probably won’t change much, but for DIY owners and independent repair work it’s a noticeable loss of access. And once one brand does it, others tend to quietly follow the same model.

The frustrating part is that it reduces transparency for exactly the group that benefits most from official

 

[Tell]

Yeah, that’s basically a classic “retail to business-only pivot”.

From a user perspective it feels abrupt, but it usually comes down to licensing cost, liability, and support overhead. OEM portals like erWin weren’t really designed to handle a large base of private users long-term, especially when you factor in payment processing, regional compliance, and support load for low-volume customers.

For business users it probably won’t change much, but for DIY owners and independent repair work it’s a noticeable loss of access. And once one brand does it, others tend to quietly follow the same model.

The frustrating part is that it reduces transparency for exactly the group that benefits most from official

Yes but you become a small business easy enough. If you have run your own, no issue. You know how to fill the form in. Easy peasy.

 

[Alibbeiver]

Yes but you become a small business easy enough. If you have run your own, no issue. You know how to fill the form in. Easy peasy.


That said, the “easy” part mostly applies to formation, not the ongoing reality of running it day to day (support, follow-ups, admin, etc.), which is where most people underestimate the workload. A lot of the friction shows up once customers actually start coming in and you need consistent processes to handle them.

That’s also why some teams eventually integrate help scout into their support workflow — not because setup is hard, but because keeping everything organized and responsive at scale becomes the real challenge.

It’s not always that straightforward though.

Registering as a small business is the easy part — the paperwork itself is usually not the real hurdle. The harder part is everything that comes after: staying compliant, keeping records straight, handling taxes correctly, and dealing with the administrative overhead that scales with time.

Even if someone has run their own business before, the specifics still vary a lot by country and structure, and “filling the form in” doesn’t necessarily reflect the ongoing obligations or the learning curve involved in maintaining it properly.

 

[Tell]

It’s not always that straightforward though.

Registering as a small business is the easy part — the paperwork itself is usually not the real hurdle. The harder part is everything that comes after: staying compliant, keeping records straight, handling taxes correctly, and dealing with the administrative overhead that scales with time.

Even if someone has run their own business before, the specifics still vary a lot by country and structure, and “filling the form in” doesn’t necessarily reflect the ongoing obligations or the learning curve involved in maintaining it properly.

Feels like you got that from AI. Ran my own business for 18 years. As far as Vag is concerned you give your business a name. If you are Fred Blogs you just call the business Fred Blogs. Job done. It's how you visit trade shows etc.