VMs, SMMT, ACEA fined £460m for collusion
Sixteen vehicle manufacturers, the SMMT and the ACEA have been fined £460m for collusion around the advertising of what percentage of their vehicles could be recycled.
The investigation which was launched in 2022 and conducted by the European Commission and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority also found they colluded to avoid paying third parties to recycle their customers’ scrap cars.
Manufacturers are legally required to include details on recyclability in their advertising materials so customers can take this into account when considering a vehicle’s green credentials before buying.
The investigation found that all manufacturers illegally agreed that they would not advertise if their vehicles went above the minimum recyclability requirement of 85%. With the exception of Renault, the manufacturers also agreed not to share information with their customers about the percentage of recycled material used in their vehicles.
Guilty
The CMA has now issued fines totalling £77.6m to BMW, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Peugeot Citroen, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault, Toyota, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).
Mercedes-Benz, which was also partial to the agreements, reported the suspected conduct to the CMA, and therefore benefits from immunity from any fine under its leniency policy.
Fines totalling £382.6m have been issued by the European Commission to the same manufacturers named in the CMA action along with Volvo, Mazda, Hyundai, Kia and Honda.
Competition
Lucilia Falsarella Pereira, senior director of competition enforcement at the CMA, said: “Agreeing with competitors the prices you’ll pay for a service or colluding to restrict competition is illegal and this can extend to how you advertise your products.
“This kind of collusion can limit consumers’ ability to make informed choices and lower the incentive for companies to invest in new initiatives. We recognise that competing businesses may want to work together to help the environment – in those cases our door is open to help them do so.”
