8:18 am, April 2, 2025
A UK watchdog has ruled that the SMMT, JLR and Volkswagen are among 12 carmakers and industry bodies which ‘colluded to restrict competition’ over vehicle recycling.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that ten brands and two trade bodies were involved in the illegal manipulation of agreeing not to compete with each other when advertising what percentage of their cars can be recycled.
Nine of the ten brands also agreed not to share information with customers about the proportion of recycled material used in their vehicles, with Renault being the only exception.
Following an investigation, the CMA has now dished out fined totalling £77.7m, the biggest of which went to Ford, which reached a £18.5m settlement.
Meanwhile, BMW has slapped with an £11.1m penalty but Mercedes avoided a fine, despite being involved in the practice, as it reported what had been going on to the CMA.
The manufacturers that have reached a settlement with the CMA are BMW, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Peugeot Citroen, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault, Toyota, Vauxhall and Volkswagen.
The SMMT and European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) were also involved in the illegal agreements, the CMA has said.
Lucilia Falsarella Pereira, senior director of competition enforcement at the CMA, said: ‘Agreeing with competitors the prices you’ll pay for a service or colluding to restrict competition is illegal and this can extend to how you advertise your products.
‘This kind of collusion can limit consumers’ ability to make informed choices and lower the incentive for companies to invest in new initiatives.
‘We recognise that competing businesses may want to work together to help the environment, in those cases our door is open to help them do so.’
Elsewhere, the CMA found that eight manufacturers – BMW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot Citroen, Renault, Toyota, Vauxhall and Volkswagen – agreed among themselves that they would not pay companies to handle the recycling of end-of-life vehicles.
The CMA found that the practice prevented service providers from negotiating a price with manufacturers over a 14-year period.
