VW, Stellantis, Renault Among Firms Fined $495M Million by EU

Volkswagen AG, Renault SA and Stellantis NV were among the hardest hit in a €458 million ($495 million) package of fines dished out by the European Union against carmakers for participating in an illegal cartel for the recycling of end-of-life vehicles.

The EU probe revealed that, for over 15 years, 16 major car manufacturers, as well as the European Automobiles Manufacturers’ Association, forged anti-competitive agreements. Despite participating in the cartel, Mercedes-Benz Group AG avoided the fines because it blew the whistle on the plot.

VW’s €128 million bill is the biggest in the industry’s settlement with EU watchdogs, followed by a €81 million fine for Renault and alliance partner Nissan Motor Co. and a nearly €75 million penalty for Stellantis. The EU penalties also included a €25 million fine for Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and a €24 million fine for Toyota Motor Corp.

VW said it took note of today’s decision and said it cooperated fully with the Commission throughout the investigation.

In a parallel case, the UK’s antitrust watchdog said later on Tuesday that it also levied fines of more than £77 million ($100 million). These included a £14.8 million fine for VW and a £18.5 million penalty for Ford Motor Co.

The cartel crackdown comes at a torrid time for the carmaking industry at large, as they face up to trade levies imposed by Donald Trump. Last week, the U.S. president signed a proclamation to implement a 25% tariff on auto imports. They will come into effect at 12:01 a.m. Washington time on April 3, and shares in major carmakers all took a hit following the recent White House commitment.

The European Commission said Tuesday the car firms firms under its investigation conspired among themselves not to pay car dismantlers for processing end-of-life vehicles because they viewed it as a profitable business for themselves.

The manufacturers also agreed to “not compete with each other on advertising the extent to which their cars could be recycled, and by agreeing to remain silent on the recycled materials used in their new cars,” EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said in a statement.

“We will not tolerate cartels of any kind, and that includes those that suppress customer awareness and demand for more environmental-friendly products,” she added.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said in a separate statement that firms illegally agreed not to compete against one another when advertising what percentage of their cars can be recycled. They also illegally colluded to avoid paying third parties to recycle their customers’ scrap cars, it said.

The CMA said firms signed up to a “gentleman’s agreement” they called the “ELV Charta.”

Renault said in a statement that the situation dates back to 2002, at a time when structuring of end of life vehicles recycling sector was still in its infancy, as was environmental communication. It said the group has strengthened its compliance program to prevent such risks from occurring, while being transparent in its public communications.

Media representatives at Stellantis didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Top photo: A scrapped VW vehicle. Photographer: Michaela Stache/Bloomberg.