Scania said it is ‘disappointed’ a top EU court has dismissed its appeal against a £751.3m (€880.5m) EU fine for being part of a price fixing cartel and insisted it is innocent of the charges, writes Carol Millett.
The ruling relates to the EC’s antitrust investigations into the truck cartel, which was launched in 2010 and saw the EC carry out dawn raids at the offices of Daimler, Iveco, DAF, Scania and Volvo/Renault in 2011. MAN was also involved but was granted immunity after bringing the cartel to the attention of the authorities.
The cartel members were found guilty of fixing the price of their trucks to pass on the cost of required environmental upgrades to their customers and protect their profits. Scania has always insisted it is innocent of the charges and has made successive appeals against the fine. However, earlier this month the Court of Justice dismissed its final appeal, ending the long running case and opens the door for claimants seeking damages from Scania.
The court said in a statement: “Scania appealed against the judgement of the General Court to the Court of Justice, which today dismisses it in its entirety, thereby upholding the judgement of the General Court.”
Despite the ruling, Scania remained defiant this week. A Scania spokesperson said the manufacturer maintains it is innocent of the charges and said: “We are disappointed by the ruling but it is what it is. We stand by our original position as stated. We deny culpability. Scania has never accepted any of the accusations.”
