Fiat Chrysler, JLR, Renault, Nissan, PSA Under Possible Antitrust Investigation
The European Commission is said to be investigating several automotive companies over possible antitrust violations relating to the sale of auto parts. According to Germany’s Der Spiegel, Renault, Nissan, PSA, Jaguar Land Rover and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles have all been placed under government scrutiny for possible price fixing. The report claims the manufacturers may have colluded to elevate the value of certain auto parts by as much as 25 percent.
Assuming the report is accurate, that would make this the EU’s second major automotive cartel investigation in the last two years.
In 2017, European anti-trust regulators grew concerned that the German auto industry was operating a cartel in which BMW, Volkswagen Group, and Daimler cooperated on decisions regarding emissions technology, supplier management, and price fixing. After a series of raids and a lengthy respite, without any new information on the subject, the European Commission followed up with an official investigation last fall.
Details on the new investigation are even sketchier. But the gist is that these automakers may have sold spare parts to customers at inflated prices, netting themselves around 2.5 billion euros of ill-gotten profit over the last ten years with help from a consulting firm based in Ireland. Der Spiegel claims the probe began back in December. However, as paper cited no direct sources, it’s unclear where it received its information or how serious the commission is taking the investigation.
Automotive News gave a brief recap of the story in English, reporting that Jaguar Land Rover, PSA and Fiat Chrysler declined to comment, while representatives from Renault and Nissan could not be reached. The European Commission also declined to respond.
While it may be naive to believe that multinational companies aren’t perpetually involved in illegal backroom deals with each other, Europe seems to be on a bit of an investigative tear lately. Reports of office raids are bizarrely common and rarely turn up the kind of concrete evidence necessary to blow the lid off things. Perhaps the EU just wants to keep a closer eye on the industry after Volkswagen’s diesel fiasco. We certainly know automakers are capable of pretty heinous behavior, but these subsequent probes never seem to gain much momentum or provide any closure.
[Image: Alexandr Kazharski/Shutterstock]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Rants are much better with the illusion of some logic - profit margins and ROI are not the same thing.
When were factory parts not overpriced?