§ 47-562v1 — Definitions.

The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in Sections 561 through 567, 572, 578.1, 579, and 579.1 of this title, shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning: 1. "Motor vehicle" means any motor-driven vehicle required to be registered under the Oklahoma Vehicle License and Registration Act. The term motor vehicle does not include: a. recreational vehicles, as defined in the Recreational Vehicle Franchise Act, or b. powersport vehicles; 2. "New motor vehicle dealer" means any person, firm, association, corporation, or trust not excluded by this paragraph who sells, offers for sale, advertises to sell, receives deposits for vehicles, leases, or displays new motor vehicles and holds a bona fide contract or franchise in effect with a manufacturer or distributor authorized by the manufacturer to make predelivery preparation of such vehicles sold to purchasers and to perform post- sale work pursuant to the manufacturer's or distributor's warranty. As used herein, "authorized predelivery preparation" means the rendition by the dealer of services and safety adjustments on each new motor vehicle in accordance with the procedure and safety standards required by the manufacturer of the vehicle to be made before its delivery to the purchaser. "Performance of authorized post-sale work pursuant to the warranty", as used herein, means the rendition of services which are required by the terms of the warranty that stands extended to the vehicle at the time of its sale and are to be made in accordance with the safety standards prescribed by the manufacturer. The term includes premises or facilities at which a person engages only in the repair of motor vehicles if repairs are performed pursuant to the terms of a franchise and motor vehicle manufacturer's warranty. For the purpose of Sections 561 through 567, 572, 578.1, 579, and 579.1 of this title, the terms new motor vehicle dealer and "new motor vehicle dealership" shall be synonymous. The term new motor vehicle dealer does not include: a. receivers, trustees, administrators, executors, guardians, or other persons appointed by or acting under judgment or order of any court, b. public officers while performing or in operation of their duties, c. employees of persons, corporations, or associations enumerated in subparagraph a of this paragraph when engaged in the specific performance of their duties as such employees, or d. a powersports vehicle dealer; 3. "Motor vehicle salesperson" means any person, resident or nonresident, who, for gain or compensation of any kind, either directly or indirectly, regularly or occasionally, by any form of agreement or arrangement, sells or negotiates for the sale, lease, or conveyance or arranges the financing of any new motor vehicle or powersports vehicle as an employee for any new motor vehicle dealer or powersports dealer to any one or more third parties; 4. "Commission" means the Oklahoma New Motor Vehicle Commission; 5. "Manufacturer" means any person, firm, association, corporation, partnership, trust, joint venture, or common entity thereof, resident or nonresident, that manufactures or assembles new and unused motor vehicles or new and unused powersport vehicles or that engages in the fabrication or assembly of motorized vehicles of a type required to be registered in this state; 6. "Distributor" means any person, firm, association, corporation, partnership, trust, joint venture, or common entity thereof, resident or nonresident, that, being authorized by the original manufacturer, in whole or in part sells or distributes new and unused motor vehicles to new motor vehicle dealers or powersport dealers, or that maintains distributor representatives; 7. "Factory branch" means any branch office maintained by a person, firm, association, corporation, partnership, trust, joint venture, or common entity thereof that manufactures or assembles motor vehicles or powersport vehicles for the sale of motor vehicles or powersport vehicles to distributors, or for the sale of motor vehicles to new motor vehicle dealers, or for the sale of powersport vehicles to new powersport vehicle dealers, or for directing or supervising, in whole or in part, its representatives; 8. "Distributor branch" means any branch office similarly maintained by a distributor for the same purposes a factory branch is maintained; 9. "Factory representative" means any officer or agent engaged as a representative of a manufacturer of motor vehicles or powersport vehicles or by a factory branch, for the purpose of making or promoting the sale of its motor vehicles or powersport vehicles, or for supervising or contacting its dealers or prospective dealers; 10. "Distributor representative" means any person, firm, association, corporation, partnership, trust, joint venture, or common entity thereof, and each officer and employee thereof engaged as a representative of a distributor or distributor branch of motor vehicles or powersport vehicles, for the purpose of making or promoting the sale of its motor vehicles or powersport vehicles, or for supervising or contacting its dealers or prospective dealers; 11. "Franchise" means any contract or agreement between a new motor vehicle dealer or a powersports vehicle dealer and a manufacturer of a new motor vehicle or powersports vehicle or its distributor or factory branch by which the new motor vehicle dealer or new powersports vehicle dealer is authorized to engage in the activities of a new motor vehicle dealer or new powersports vehicle dealer as defined by this section; 12. "New or unused motor vehicle" means a vehicle which is in the possession of the manufacturer or distributor or has been sold only to the holder of a valid franchise granted by the manufacturer or distributor for the sale of that make of new vehicle so long as the manufacturer's statement of origin has not been assigned to anyone other than a licensed franchised new motor vehicle dealer of the same line-make; 13. "Area of responsibility" means the geographical area, as designated by the manufacturer, factory branch, factory representative, distributor, distributor branch, or distributor representative, in which the new motor vehicle dealer or powersports dealer is held responsible for the promotion and development of sales and rendering of service for the make of motor vehicle or powersports vehicle for which the new motor vehicle dealer or new powersports vehicle dealer holds a franchise or selling agreement; 14. "Off premises" means at a location other than the address designated on the new motor vehicle dealer's or new powersports vehicle dealer's license; 15. "Sponsoring entity" means any person, firm, association, corporation, or trust which has control, either permanently or temporarily, over the real property upon which the off-premises sale or display is conducted; 16. "Product" means new motor vehicles and new motor vehicle parts or new powersports vehicle and new powersports vehicle parts; 17. "Service" means motor vehicle or powersports vehicle warranty repairs including both parts and labor; 18. "Lead" means a consumer contact in response to a factory program designed to generate interest in purchasing or leasing a new motor vehicle or new powersports vehicle; 19. "Sell" or "sale" means to sell or lease; 20. "Factory" means a manufacturer, distributor, factory branch, distributor branch; or any common entity of a manufacturer, distributor, factory branch or distributor branch; or factory representative, or distributor representative, which manufactures or distributes vehicle products; 21. "Powersports vehicle" means any new or unused motorcycles, scooters, mopeds, all-terrain vehicles, and utility vehicles required to be registered under the Oklahoma Vehicle License and Registration Act, with the exception of all-terrain vehicles, utility vehicles, and motorcycles used exclusively for off-road use which are sold by a retail implement dealer; 22. "Powersports vehicle dealer" means any person, firm, or corporation, resident or nonresident, that is in the business of selling any new powersports vehicles except for retail implement dealers; 23. "Retail implement dealer" means a business engaged primarily in the sale of farm tractors as defined in Section 1-118 of this title or implements of husbandry as defined in Section 1-125 of this title or a combination thereof and is exempt from licensing by the Commission for the sale of all-terrain vehicles, utility vehicles, and motorcycles used exclusively for off-road use; 24. "Consumer data" means nonpublic personal information as defined in 15 U.S.C., Section 6809(4) as it existed on January 1, 2023, that is: a. collected by a new motor vehicle dealer, and b. provided by the new motor vehicle dealer directly to a manufacturer or third party acting on behalf of a manufacturer. The term shall not include the same or similar data obtained by a manufacturer from any source other than the new motor vehicle dealer or new motor vehicle dealer's data management system; 25. "Fleet vehicle" means a new motor vehicle sold and titled or registered to a business and used for business purposes only; and 26. a. "Common entity" means any person, firm, association, corporation, partnership, trust, or joint venture acting as a new motor vehicle dealer as defined by paragraph 20 of this section: (1) which is directly or indirectly controlled by or has more than thirty percent (30%) of its equity interest directly or indirectly owned, beneficially or of record, through any form of ownership structure, by a factory, manufacturer, manufacturer branch, distributor, or distributor branch, or (2) which has more than thirty percent (30%) of its equity interest directly or indirectly controlled or owned, beneficially or of record, through any form of ownership structure, by one or more persons who also directly or indirectly control or own, beneficially or of record, more than thirty percent (30%) of the equity interests of a factory, manufacturer, manufacturer branch, distributor, or distributor branch. b. Notwithstanding subdivision (1) or (2) of subparagraph a of this paragraph, an entity that would otherwise be considered a common entity of a distributor under subdivision (1) or (2) of subparagraph a of this paragraph because of its relation to a distributor is not considered a common entity of that distributor if: (1) the distributor to which the entity is related was a licensed distributor on March 1, 2025, (2) the entity is not a common entity of a manufacturer or an importer, and (3) the distributor to which the entity is related is not, and has never been, a common entity of a manufacturer or an importer.

Legislative History

Added by Laws 1953, p. 179, § 2, emerg. eff. May 26, 1953. Amended by Laws 1959, p. 205, § 2, emerg. eff. July 16, 1959; Laws 1967, c. 251, §§ 1 and 2, emerg. eff. May 8, 1967; Laws 1970, c. 197, § 2, emerg. eff. April 13, 1970; Laws 1973, c. 189, § 1, emerg. eff. May 17, 1973; Laws 1977, c. 14, § 1, emerg. eff. March 18, 1977; Laws 1980, c. 85, § 9, eff. Jan. 1, 1981; Laws 1985, c. 229, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 1985; Laws 1998, c. 269, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1998; Laws 2000, c. 80, § 1, emerg. eff. April 14, 2000; Laws 2000, c. 341, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2000; Laws 2001, c. 148, § 1, emerg. eff. April 30, 2001; Laws 2005, c. 284, § 11, eff. July 1, 2005; Laws 2006, c. 213, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2006; Laws 2008, c. 315, § 2, emerg. eff. June 2, 2008; Laws 2009, c. 182, § 7, eff. Nov. 1, 2009; Laws 2011, c. 272, § 20, eff. Jan. 1, 2012; Laws 2013, c. 191, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2013; Laws 2023, c. 29, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2023; Laws 2024, c. 240, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2024; Laws 2025, c. 119, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2025.