Anti-trust watchdog probes suspected automobile sector cartel
CNC’s investigation covers vast majority of manufacturers and several distributors of their brands
The Spanish anti-trust authorities have opened an industry-wide investigation into whether car manufacturers and distributors have been sharing commercial information and colluding to fix prices.
In a statement released Wednesday, the National Competition Commission (CNC) said its probe involves practically all vehicle producers based in Spain, including Nissan, Renault, Toyota, Chrysler, General Motors, Fiat Group, Ford, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Honda, Kia Motors, Peugeot and Citroën, as well as Volkswagen Audi España, Seat, Urban Science and Snap-On Solutions.
The decision to launch proceedings, which could entail sanctions of up to 10 percent of the manufacturers’ annual revenues, follows a series of inspections of the companies concerned in June and July aimed at determining whether they had exchanged information on prices and market strategies.
The parallel probe involves the distributors of Audi, Seat, Nissan, Toyota, Land Rover, Hyundai and Opel brands in Spain.
“The investigation of cartels is one of the CNC’s priorities,” the anti-trust authority said.
Reuters quoted a Seat spokesman as saying that Volkswagen’s Spanish unit was aware that an investigation had been launched into some of the concession holders for its vehicles, while a Renault official denied any attempts on its part to distort competition. “The opening of an investigation does not prejudge the final decision of the CNC. In this sense, Renault believes its conduct does not infringe company laws,” the spokesman said.
