Mercedes-Benz found guilty of price fixing in China

Xinhua news agency reported China has found Mercedes-Benz guilty of price fixing for after sales services. The report did not mention any penalties, however China has an anti-monopoly law which allows the country’s antitrust regulator the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to issue fines in the amount of 1% and 10% percent of a company’s revenues for the previous year.

An investigation was launched last month by the Jiangsu Province Price Bureau where anti-competitive practices were found after raiding Mercedes dealerships in the eastern coastal providence and also an office in Shanghai.

Xinhua sited a report from the China Automotive Maintenance and Repair Trade Association that the cost of replacing all of the spare parts in a Mercedes C-Class could amount to 12 times more than purchasing a new vehicle.

A spokesman from Daimler repeated a statement made by Mercedes on August 5, 2014 that it was assisting authorities in their investigation and added due this being an ongoing matter that it could not make any further comments.