EU Slaps Fines of Nearly $500 Million on Automakers for Operating a 'Long-Lasting Cartel'
On Monday, the European Commission — the executive body of the European Union — announced it has fined 15 car manufacturers for colluding and participating in what it described as "a long-lasting cartel" to prevent competition on vehicle recycling and the use of recycled materials in their cars.
Volkswagen received the largest fine of €127.69 million. Renault-Nissan was second with €81.46 million, and Stellantis third at €74.93 million. The list of offending OEMs also include Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai/Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo and Suzuki. Mercedes-Benz was also on the list, but was given full immunity by being the company to reveal the cartel; otherwise, it would’ve been subject to a fine of approximately €35 million.
“Today, we have taken firm action against companies that colluded to prevent competition on recycling,” said Teresa Ribera, executive vice-president for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition.
“These car manufacturers coordinated for over 15 years to avoid paying for recycling services, by agreeing to not compete with each other on advertising the extent to which their cars could be recycled, and by agreeing to remain silent on the recycled materials used in their new cars,” she said. “We will not tolerate cartels of any kind, and that includes those that suppress customer awareness and demand for more environmental-friendly products.”
The Commission’s investigation found that the above car companies “agreed not to pay car dismantlers” for their services of processing end-of-life vehicles. The companies shared sensitive information on their individual agreements with car dismantlers, then coordinated their behavior toward them.
This investigation also found that manufacturers “agreed not to promote how much of an ELV can be recycled, recovered and reused and how much recycled material is used in new cars.” The goal was to “prevent consumers from considering recycling information when choosing a car.” This system was organized and meetings set up by the ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers' Association), and the group was fined 500,000 euros for its participation.
Any person or company that was affected by the anti-competitive behavior is now also eligible to seek damages for the financial harm done. Every car company was fined varying amounts, but the Commission applied a 10% reduction across the board for acknowledging their participation and liability. Stellantis, Ford and Mitsubishi received further reductions for their additional cooperation.
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