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Top truck manufacturers face record fine

The six biggest truck manufacturers in Europe are preparing to pay big fines for emissions and price charges, reports say

 

The European Union is reportedly in the process of issuing the biggest cartel fine in history, directing the financial punishment at truck makers for allegedly colluding to delay emissions technology and fix prices.

Financial Times report says the charges originally laid out in front of Iveco, Daimler, Volvo, MAN, DAF, and Scania in 2014 will come forth this year, even within weeks.

Citing “people close to the discussions”, the report suggests the truck makers have already been allocating close to US$2.6 billion (A$3.6 billion) to cover the fine, with DAF setting aside $945 million (A$1.3 billion), Daimler accruing $672 million (A$934 million), Iveco $500 million (A$695 million), and Volvo $444 million (A$617 million).

It is believed that MAN, as the whistle-blower, will avoid a fine altogether.

Volkswagen’s other subsidiary Scania has also chosen not to set funds aside according to its annual report, as it cannot estimate the impact of the charges.

According to the commission’s rules, the fine can be as high as 10 per cent of a company’s global income, which in this case could be over €10 billion (A$15.5 billion).

While the charges came in 2014, they stem from a probe into the companies behaviour from 1997 to 2011.

The EU cartel fine does not cover any legal action that transport companies, of which there are over 600,000, may take against the manufacturers for their own financial losses.

  

 

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