Automakers Mercedes Benz says that it expects to be excluded from any fines imposed on them as it acts as a whistleblower to the antitrust regulators of the European Union. They are probing against collusion in collecting and recycling scrapped vans and cars.
The whistle-blowing of Marcedes-Benz
Mercedes Benz announced this after it was revealed by the European Union antitrust officials on Tuesday when they conducted dawn raids on the premises of companies and their associates.
According to regulators, the companies that have not yet been identified may have agreed to price-fixing. The action of the European Union was carried out in coordination with U.K. Competition and Markets Authority.
Mercedes Benz asked for leniency after cooperating with CMA and the European Commission, according to Bloomberg News. Mercedez Benz does not expect to be fined. BMW AG said that though its premises were not searched, it received a request from the European Union authorities for more information, though its premises were not explored. It said it was examining the matter and looking into the demand for a reply, while Volkswagen AG did not comment.
A 2021 study by the Heinrich-Boell foundation revealed that around 12 million cars come off the roads in Europe every year for various reasons, including scraps and noncompliance with new emission standards.
The grey market is massive, with only two out of three vehicles being delivered to facilities for authorized treatment at the end of their life. Legislation by the EU has put the onus on car manufacturing companies to manage the old vehicles they had brought on Road. Around 85% of the car’s weight needs to be reused or recycled.
It was seen that the auto industry had become a serial offender in antitrust rules in recent times. In probe over truck cartel, it was found that the Scania unit of manufacturer Volkswagen was fined for colluding with five other manufacture for more than 14 years on pricings and costs to meet the stricter emission targets.
The penalty on Scania was the second-highest ever for a single company by the EU in the price-fixing case, which Daimler AG topped for a 1.01 billion euro fine in the same issue. Daimler AG had split into Daimler Truck AG and Mercedes Benz last year.
BNW AG and Volkswagen had agreed to pay 875 million euros in fines to the EU for colluding after regulating the Adblue emission cleaning technology rollout. Daimler had escaped fine by becoming the whistleblower at that time.
