Volkswagen, Daimler, BMW, Audi and Porsche have to may face drastic consequences in the diesel sector, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager told Business Insider Deutschland. “If the allegations against the German car manufacturers are confirmed in court, they face very high financial penalties,” she said.
The five car manufacturers are said to have operated a cartel over a number of years, in which prohibited agreements were being made on a large scale, including arrangements surrounding the exhaust gas values of internal combustion engines. Daimler and VW have both carried out internal investigations into the matter.
Vestager stressed that it was still too early to “speculate on the extent of the possible sanctions and a length of time for a decision from the EU Commission.” However, the competition watchdog placed the case on a par with the cartel offenses of Google and Facebook.
“I see no big difference between the business practices of American tech companies and those of German car makers,” she said. “When companies commit illegal acts, they are usually driven by greed or fear.”
Full Content: Reuters
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
UK Competition Regulator to Reform Pay System Amid Bias Allegations
Sep 16, 2024 by
CPI
TikTok Faces Intense Scrutiny as US Court Hears Case to Block Potential Ban
Sep 16, 2024 by
CPI
DirecTV and Disney Resolve Dispute, Restore Programming for Subscribers
Sep 15, 2024 by
CPI
UK Antitrust Authority Raises Concerns Over Vodafone-Three Merger
Sep 15, 2024 by
CPI
Brazilian Supreme Court Lifts Freeze on Starlink Accounts, Transfers $3.3 Million to National Treasury
Sep 15, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Canada & Mexico
Sep 3, 2024 by
CPI
Competitive Convergence: Mexico’s 30-Year Quest for Antitrust Parity with its Northern Neighbor
Sep 3, 2024 by
Francisco Javier Núñez Melgoza
Competition and Digital Markets in North America: A Comparative Study of Antitrust Investigations in Mexico and the United States
Sep 3, 2024 by
Julio Garcia
Recent Antitrust Development in Mexico: COFECE’s Preliminary Report on Amazon and Mercado Libre
Sep 3, 2024 by
Alejandra Palacios Prieto
The Cost of Making COFECE Disappear
Sep 3, 2024 by
Mateo Fernández