What’s Changing and Where Did It Come From?
As of last Friday, 19 June 2026, traders must provide consumers with a direct electronic option to exercise their right of withdrawal for distance contracts concluded by means of an online user interface: the so-called “withdrawal function” (in German practice often referred to as the “Widerrufsbutton” or “Button-Lösung”).
This new requirement stems from the transposition of Directive (EU) 2023/2673 into German law. At the heart of the matter is the new Section 356a of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch – BGB), which obliges traders to provide consumers, on the respective online user interface, with a simple, clearly recognizable and permanently available option to submit a withdrawal declaration.
Undertakings across all industries have been working intensively on implementing the new requirements in recent weeks and months. The implementation deadline has passed, but many questions remain unanswered, particularly for the automotive sector.
Why does the new requirement particularly affect OEMs?
The changes are particularly relevant for OEMs and providers of digital vehicle services. This is because, in the automotive sector, distance contracts on digital content and digital services have long since ceased to be concluded or managed solely via traditional websites or apps. Increasingly, contracts are also being concluded via in-car stores, vehicle head units, connected service portals, or “functions-on-demand” offerings.
The following may be particularly affected:
- connected services and remote services,
- digital vehicle functions and functions on demand,
- navigation, entertainment or data packages,
- charging, subscription and app-based services,
- other digital value-added services provided to consumers.
Depending on the nature of the respective service, providers must in future enable affected B2C users (consumers) to exercise their statutory right of withdrawal electronically in accordance with the applicable legal requirements.
The key principle is this: If a B2C distance contract with a statutory right of withdrawal is concluded via an online user interface, the exercise of the right of withdrawal must also be possible via such an online user interface in future.
Does this also apply to free services?
The new obligation to provide an electronic mechanism to exercise the right of withdrawal is not limited to traditional paid services i.e., those for which a price is directly paid but may also cover supposedly “free” digital services. This follows directly from the legal framework of Section 312(1a) BGB and Section 327(3) BGB. Both provisions clarify that the consumer contract rules on digital products also apply where consumers provide personal data as counter-performance instead of a monetary payment, and the trader processes this data for purposes beyond the mere performance of the contract (e.g., for product development).
What challenges arise during implementation across the app, portal and head unit?
This raises numerous practical implementation questions for OEMs. Where must the withdrawal function be integrated? Is implementation in the app or the customer portal sufficient? Or must exercise of the right of withdrawal also be possible via the vehicle display if the distance contract was concluded there?
It is unclear whether implementation directly in the vehicle’s head unit is always mandatory, even if the contract was concluded via that channel or whether the new provisions allow for alternative solutions.
Certain arguments may support a more flexible approach, including the wording of Section 356a(1) sentence 1 BGB (“on the online user interface”). In particular, for services that, even if activated via the head unit are by default managed via a connected vehicle app, the purpose of the provision (simplicity, findability and accessibility of the withdrawal option) may also be fulfilled where the withdrawal button is implemented in the relevant app (or website). However, the assessment depends heavily on the specific circumstances, which must be examined on a case-by-case basis.
Additional challenges arise specifically in the automotive context:
Who is entitled to exercise the right of withdrawal in a multi-user vehicle? How is the contract unequivocally assigned to a VIN, a user account, or a digital function? How should limited connectivity be handled? And what additional requirements apply if the distance contract was concluded directly via the head unit?
The new withdrawal function is yet another example of how digital consumer protection rules increasingly have a direct impact on the automotive environment. Legally compliant implementation therefore requires close collaboration between Legal, Product Development, UX Design and Compliance teams.
How can legally compliant and user-friendly solutions be developed?
The starting point is a structured gap analysis that systematically identifies which services and online user interfaces are affected by the withdrawal function requirements. Based on the results of this analysis, Legal, UX and Product Development must collaborate in a targeted manner to integrate the button into the head unit, app or portal in a way that both meets the statutory requirements of Section 356a BGB and provides intuitive user guidance.
Key design decisions should be documented, and the relevant touchpoints should be prioritized based on risk for example, according to the importance of the channels for contract conclusion and contract management. In many cases, existing compliance infrastructure such as that established when implementing earlier withdrawal-button / cancellation-button requirements can be reused to efficiently leverage processes, systems and audit trails, thereby reducing implementation efforts.
We support companies in developing solutions that are both legally compliant and user-friendly solutions that meet regulatory requirements without unnecessarily complicating business processes. In doing so, we draw on our many years of experience with the implementation of similar digital compliance requirements, including those arising under the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the so-called “opt-out button”.
