Autoliv to pay $14.5 M for seat belt price-fixing; Yazaki exec agrees to 14 months in prison

The U.S. DOJ has announced two separate guilty pleas in its ongoing probe of anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry.

Autoliv, a Swedish company, will plead guilty to fixing prices of occupant safety system parts to two automobile manufacturers. From March 2006 until February 2011, Autoliv engaged in a price-fixing conspiracy for seatbelts, airbags and steering wheels. The second conspiracy was for seatbelts, from May 2008 to February 2011. Autoliv will pay a $14.5 million fine for its actions, and it will cooperate with the DOJ in its ongoing investigation.

Kazuhiko Kashimoto, an executive of Japan-based Yazaki Corporation, will plead guilty for his role in a conspiracy to fix the prices of automotive wire hireness and related products from January 2000 to September 2007. Kashimoto will serve 14 months in a U.S. prison, pay a $20,000, and cooperate with the DOJ.

Full content: DOJ Press Release

Related content: Design and Implementation of Screens and Their Use by Defendants  (Rosa Abrantes-Metz, Global Economics Group, NYU Stern School of Business)

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