Margrethe Vestager – Photo © European Union 2021
(BRUSSELS) – Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen group breached EU antitrust rules by colluding on technical development in the area of nitrogen oxide cleaning, the European Commission found on Thursday.
The Commission fine amounts to EUR 875,189,000. Daimler was not fined, as it revealed the existence of the cartel to the Commission. All parties acknowledged their involvement in the cartel and agreed to settle the case.
“The five car manufacturers Daimler, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche possessed the technology to reduce harmful emissions beyond what was legally required under EU emission standards,” said EC vice-president Margrethe Vestager: “But they avoided to compete on using this technology’s full potential to clean better than what is required by law.”
Ms Vestager added that the EU does not tolerate collusion between companies, which is illegal under EU Antitrust rules, and the EU would not hesitate to take action against “all forms of cartel conduct putting in jeopardy this goal”.
The Commission says the car manufactures held regular technical meetings to discuss the development of the selective catalytic reduction (SCR)-technology which eliminates harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx)-emissions from diesel passenger cars through the injection of urea (also called “AdBlue”) into the exhaust gas stream. During these meetings, and for over five years, the car manufacturers colluded to avoid competition on cleaning better than what is required by law despite the relevant technology being available.
More specifically, Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen group reached an agreement on AdBlue tank sizes and ranges and a common understanding on the average estimated AdBlue-consumption. They also exchanged commercially sensitive information on these elements. They thereby removed the uncertainty about their future market conduct concerning NOx-emissions cleaning beyond and above the legal requirements (so called “over-fulfilment”) and AdBlue-refill ranges.
This means that they restricted competition on product characteristics relevant for the customers.
That conduct constitutes an infringement by object in the form of a limitation of technical development, a type of infringement explicitly referred to in Article 101(1)(b) of the Treaty and Article 53(1)(b) of the European Economic Area (EEA)-Agreement.
The conduct took place between 25 June 2009 and 1 October 2014.
More information on this case will be available under the case number AT.40178 in the public case register on the Commission’s competition website, once confidentiality issues have been dealt with. For more information on the Commission’s action against cartels, see its cartels website.
