German Auto Makers Fined Over Steel-Buying Practices
November 21 2019 - 5:59AM
Dow Jones News
By Max Bernhard
Germany's antitrust regulator said Thursday that it fined car
makers BMW AG (BMW.XE), Daimler AG (VOW.XE) and Volkswagen AG
(VOW.XE) a total of 100 million euros ($110.7 million) for
anticompetitive practices in purchasing steel products.
"From 2004 to the end of 2013, representatives of BMW, Daimler
and Volkswagen met regularly twice a year with steel manufacturers,
forges and major system suppliers to discuss uniform price
surcharges for the purchase of long steel," the Federal Cartel
Office said.
The authority said that steel suppliers unilaterally changed
their pricing models, sometimes threatening to stop supply, after
which the car makers agreed to the changes and the meetings
started.
"The companies have acknowledged the facts established by the
Federal Cartel Office as correct and have agreed to an amicable
termination of the proceedings," it noted.
The proceedings are unrelated to EU investigations against
various car manufacturers on suspicion of collusion on emissions
technologies, added.
Write to Max Bernhard at max.bernhard@dowjones.com;
@mxbernhard
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 21, 2019 05:44 ET (10:44 GMT)
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