OFT dishes out £2.6m fine to Mercedes and three dealers
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THE OFFICE OF Fair Trading (OFT) has hit Mercedes-Benz and three of its dealers with a £2.6m fine relating to the sale of new vehicles.
Mercedes and three of its CV dealers — Ciceley, Road Range and Enza — have admitted infringing competition law and agreed to pay the fine.
A fourth dealer, Northside, has also admitted infringing competition law, but will avoid any fine due to its role as whistleblower in the investigation.
The case against a fifth dealership, H&L garages and its parent Dusted Powder, remains active.
The settlements relate to three separate infringements of competition law, all of which contained "at least some element of market sharing, price co-ordination or exchange of commercially sensitive information", said the OFT, which launched its investigation in 2010.
The infringements relate to the distribution of vans between 15 January 2008 and 26 January 2010, comprising Ciceley and Northside; the distribution of vans between 1 February 2008 and 26 January 2010, comprising Ciceley and Road Range; and the distribution of trucks between 8 December 2009 and 26 January 2010, involving Ciceley, Enza, Mercedes and Road Range.
Mercedes-Benz UK, its parent Daimler UK and its ultimate parent Daimler AG will pay the lion's share of the settlement at just under £1.5m; Ciceley Commercials and its ultimate parent Ciceley Ltd will pay just under £660,000; Enza Motors, its parent Enza Holdings and ultimate parent Enza Group will pay just over £347,000; and Road Range will pay just over £115,000.
OFT senior director of cartels Ali Nikpay said the cases sent "a clear signal that the OFT will take firm action against companies that collude to deny customers the benefit of fair competition': In a statement, the vehicle manufacturer said: "Mercedes-Benz UK has reached a settlement with the OFT for one infringement of competition law relating to its recent investigation into the company, and three of its commercial vehicle dealers. Mercedes regrets the incident and has learned a lot from it."