China’s antitrust regulators on Thursday formally announced their first fines to foreign automakers for price fixing, following a widely reported and ongoing investigation into anti-monopolistic practices in the country’s automotive industry.
Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission fined Fiat-Chrysler CNY32m (US$5.2m) after it was found guilty of price fixing. Three Chrysler dealers in Shanghai were also fined, according to local reports.
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The biggest single fine to date, of CNY248.6m (US$40.5m), was levied on FAW-Volkswagen Automobile by the Hubei Bureau of Price Supervision. The fine, equivalent to 6% of Audi’s sales revenues in Hubei in 2013, also was imposed for breaking China’s anti-trust laws.
Among other global automakers under investigation for price fixing are Mercedes-Benz, Tata Motors’ Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota-Lexus, Honda and Ford. Last month, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) fined 12 Japanese auto-parts makers a record CNY1.24bn (US$201.2m) for manipulating prices.
China’s regulatory clampdown ‘not having a big effect on our business’ – BMW1
