Major car manufacturers fined $600 million for vehicle recycling cartel (Josh Sonnenberg – Unsplash)
Fifteen major automakers, including Volkswagen, Stellantis, Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan/Renault and Toyota, have been fined a total of $602.6 million for forming a cartel to hide information about the recycling of their vehicles.
According to investigations by the European Commission and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the companies conspired to withhold whether their cars exceeded the minimum recycling requirement of 85%, restricting competition and making it harder for consumers to compare environmental credentials. Additionally, industry associations such as the SMMT and ACEA were also penalized for facilitating this illegal practice.
Another violation identified involved a “buyers’ cartel,” in which eight automakers, including BMW, Ford, and Toyota, decided not to pay third-party companies to handle end-of-life vehicle recycling, aiming to profit from dismantling the vehicles themselves. This practice hindered fair negotiations with specialized service providers. Mercedes, although involved in the scheme, avoided fines by reporting the cartel to authorities, while Stellantis, Mitsubishi, and SMMT received reduced penalties for cooperating with the investigation.
In total, the European Commission issued fines amounting to $503.8 million, while the CMA penalized the companies with an additional $102.18 million. Volkswagen received the largest fine, totaling $116.59 million from the European Commission and $19.65 million from the CMA. Other manufacturers such as Renault, Nissan, and Ford were also heavily fined. All sanctioned companies have agreed to pay the fines by June 2.
While some automakers were fined in both the European Union and the United Kingdom, brands such as Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Suzuki, and Volvo are only facing fines within the EU.
Source: Car Magazine | Photo: Unsplash | This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team
