Media reports in China say that Mercedes-Benz has been found guilty of vertical price fixing in the aftermarket by the anti-monopoly investigation launched by Jiangsu Price Bureau.
The Xinhua News Agency reported that Zhou Gao, an official from the bureau, said that Mercedes-Benz manipulated the prices of spare parts and maintenance “on the downstream after-sales market”.
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Mercedes-Benz said it has not received any intimation from the authorities yet, according to Beijing Times report.
The China Daily reported that Li Pumin, spokesman of the National Development and Reform Commission, confirmed earlier that antitrust officials in eastern Jiangsu province have started investigating Mercedes-Benz dealers in five cities, including Suzhou and Wuxi, while Mercedes-Benz’s Shanghai office was raided by local NDRC officials.
At the beginning of August, Mercedes-Benz announced plans to cut the prices of spare parts in China by 15 percent on average in after-sales maintenance for all models from Sept 1 in response to the country’s antitrust regulator’s investigation.
China Daily has reported that the carmaker in July had reduced the cost of maintenance by 20 percent on average covering both smart cars and Mercedes-Benz models, including the A-, B-, C-, E-, GLK-, M-, R-, and S-Class. Reductions in some specific models could be as much as 50 percent, China Daily reported.
China’s anti-trust probe has expanded to include over 1,000 local Chinese and overseas automotive companies, according to local sources quoting a Chinese government official.
The companies being investigated for price fixing include vehicle manufacturers, component suppliers and dealers. Among the high-profile overseas carmakers that are being investigated are BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Lexus and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Fiat-Chrysler and General Motors.
A large number of carmakers have announced vehicle or spare parts price cuts in the last few weeks as an initial response to the investigation.
See also: CHINA: Companies fear unfair targeting in regulatory clampdown
