DAF get fined 752 million euros for cartel truck – NU.nl

This is a record amount of nearly two times higher than the previous penalty Brussels handed out for violation of competition. This according to EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager (Competition) good reason.

Daimler will pay the maximum fine of EUR 1 billion. DAF must make 752 million and for Volvo / Renault and Iveco are the fines respectively 670 million euros and 494 million euros.

MAN Truck Builder feeling the pinch as a detector of the cartel. The group have to pay anything. Scania was also part of the investigation, but has not been fined. The investigation of this company is still ongoing.

DAF

The American owner of DAF, Paccar, put in march for hundreds of millions aside for the fine. A spokesman for DAF states that the penalty is 97 million less than what Paccar booked as a provision in the first quarter.

Paccar is further disagrees with the conclusion of the European Commission. “We believe that exchanging factory prices had no impact on the sales of trucks, such as those being negotiated between independent dealers and customers,” the company states.

Serious infringement

According Vestager there is ‘serious infringement “on the European rules between 1997 and 2011.

‘ It is unacceptable that MAN Volvo / Renault, Daimler, Iveco and DAF, which together produce nine out of ten medium and heavy trucks in Europe, formed a cartel rather than compete with each other, “said the Danish commissioner.

Phone Calls

Drivers from topregionen of a company agreed with each other while among other conferences. This was supplemented by phone calls. From 2004 interviews were conducted via the German subsidiaries of companies.

There were, among other agreements on price increases, the introduction of new technology to reduce emissions and on how these technologies at prices costs had to be processed.

Alarm

DAF after the other groups were given a further discount on the fine because it cooperated with the authorities.

In January 2011 all Brussels coincided with national competition authorities unannounced to include DAF in Eindhoven. In 2014 followed an official complaint.

The fine goes to the budget of the European Union and ensure that the reduction of the contribution of Member States.

by: Reuters / NU.nl