Scania fights claims of price fixing in Europe

Scania is the only truck maker fined by the European Commission (EC) in September to appeal that decision, maintaining its innocence against charges it participated in a cartel with other truck makers to fix pricing. The company has filed an official appeal against the EC decision.

There are two current class action lawsuits over the scheme, the Handy Shipping Guide reports.

The other companies involved have agreed to a settlement. They are Volvo/Renault, Iveco, Daimler, DAF and MAN. All companies have admitted to price-fixing in collusion with each other and agreed to pay a collective 2.93 billion euros.  

Scania maintains its innocence in the collusion and noted that it has gone out of its way to cooperate with the EC. It also stated in the appeal how it “has not entered into any pan-European agreement with other manufacturers with regard to pricing.” It also denied any effort to delay introduction of new European Union compliant engines fitting the exhaust emissions regulations mandated by the EC.

Of the 2.93 billion euros’ collective fine, 880 million was supposed to be shouldered by Scania. Since Scania was the only company not to subject itself to any settlement agreement, it got much of the focus of the EC’s investigation eventually uncovered the following:

• The Gross List. This is in reference to the price list implemented for heavy trucks sold in the European Economic Area (EEA). Each manufacturer sets the factory price for each truck, making it the main reference for buyers. Buyers then identify the final prices based on factors like adjustments done at the local level and the national level.
• Timing of the introduction of emissions standards. European emissions standards has escalated from Euro 3 to Euro 6 for both medium and heavy trucks. Medium trucks are identified as vehicles weighing between 6 and 16 tons. Heavy trucks are then identified as vehicles weighing above 16 tons.
• Making the customers shoulder the expenses of emissions equipment. Within the same decision to escalate the European emissions standards from Euro 3 to Euro 6, the EC found that the companies passed on the cost of meeting these requirements to customers.

These issues were identified from the years 1997 to 2011. The EC, which studied Scania’s sales of heavy trucks in the EEA, used the word “cartel” in describing “the high combined market share of all participating companies” among others.

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