Germany's Daimler AG Mercedes-Benz, a manufacturer of luxury cars, has been found guilty of manipulating prices for after-sales services in China, the official Xinhua news agency reported citing the Jiangsu Province Price Bureau.
Anti-trust regulator, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), can exercise its power imposing a hefty fine on Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz. The penalty can be up to 10% of company's revenues in China for the previous year.
Currently, the car making industry in China is being closely monitored due to anti-monopoly investigations on the world’s largest sales car market. Adding pressure on foreign carmakers, such world-famous giants such as Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen AG, Audi, and BMW were forced to reduce prices of spare parts. In July, the Jiangsu Province Price Bureau found evidence of anti-competitive practices after raiding Mercedes-Benz dealerships in the eastern coastal province and an office in neighboring Shanghai.
Earlier, Mercedes-Benz claimed that it had provided the state supervision agency with full support during the investigation. However, the spokesman for the German carmaker did not go into details.
Chinese car industry analysts believe that overseas carmakers have a range of tools to influence car dealers and sellers in China. That is why they are able to control prices violating the state anti-monopoly legislation.
