Spain: Regulator fines Volvo dealerships over price-fixing cartel

Spanish competition regulator CNMC has set a 1.28 million euro fine on four Volvo dealerships and a marketing company over repeated instances of cartel formation, price fixing and other violations to the country’s competition laws, including information trading.

The cartel is believed to have been set up between February and September 2007, with a brief interruption lasting until October 2009, and operating again between 2009 and 2011. The cartel included dealerships around Madrid, Castilla y Leon and Castilla-La Mancha, with its participants referring to the agreement as “Volvo Madrid”

The conduct being sanctioned is thought to have had negative effects on the local market, causing an artificial reduction in the normal uncertainty companies must face regarding their competitors’ commercial position. The lack of true competition that resulted has been passed on to consumers through less frequent discounts, less aggressive commercial strategies and fewer incentives to stand out from other brands through quality or prices.

Full Content: CNMC

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.