By Penelope Macrae
India’s anti-trust watchdog has fined 14 automakers a total of $420 million for restricting competition in the spare parts market and driving up prices, a official said Tuesday, a few days after Chinese regulators took similar action.
Suppliers, in particular those from Japan, who have colluded for years to inflate parts prices for automakers, dealers and repair shops in a global market with annual sales of over 80 million vehicles, are now being exposed in a worldwide sweep by regulators.
For the past five years, competition watchdogs — from the United States, Europe and across Asia – have moved in, handing out record fines in some cases, and calling time on a business model that has served suppliers well. That model essentially sees parts makers collude to keep prices relatively high for new components they supply to car manufacturers, and then charge even more for the same parts supplied as replacements to dealerships and repair shops.
by Christoph Steitz, Edward Taylor, Andreas Cremer in FRANKFURT and Samuel Shen in SHANGHAI
Three German car parts suppliers have been told by China they can no longer manage their Chinese units independently but need to form partnerships with local peers, the chief executive of auto parts maker ElringKlinger told a German paper.
ABB launched Terra 53 Z, its first high power DC fast charger that complies with the Chinese GB standard. The new chargers will be manufactured locally in Shenzhen at ABB’s recently established base for electric vehicle chargers.
General Motors said it will reduce production at its plant near St. Petersburg, Russia, citing a continued slowdown of the country’s auto market.
