Car manufacturers and association fined €458 million by European Commission

The European Automobiles Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) alongside 15 major car manufacturers have been fined €458 million, due to a cartel surrounding end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling.

End-of-life vehicle recycling is used to recover valuable materials and minimise waste. To aid the EU’s decarbonisation, recycling ambition, and manufacturers efforts to comply with CO2 emission targets, a flexibility measure has been proposed by the Commission.

Sixteen major car manufacturers and ACEA were involved in anticompetitive agreements over fifteen years. The only company not fined, Mercedes-Benz, blew the whistle regarding the Cartel to the Commission.

Two practises in which all parties were involved with; not paying car dismantlers for processing ELVs, and not promoting how much recycled material is used within new cars or the amount of an ELV that can be recovered, recycled or reused. This stops customers taking recycling information into account when purchasing a vehicle.

The 2000/53/EC on ELVs Directive makes it clear that, ‘the last owner of an ELV must be able to dispose of it at no cost with a dismantler and if needed, car manufacturers are obliged to bear the costs.’ Plus, when searching for a new car, consumers must be told about the recycling performance of any car.

Mercedes-Benz were granted full immunity for revealing the Cartel. Stellantis (including Opel), Mitsubishi and Ford received a reduced fine, as they cooperated with the Commission. A 10% reduction was provided to all the parties who acknowledged their participation and liability. ACEA was fined a lump sum, as it was the facilitator.

Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, commented “Today, we have taken firm action against companies that colluded to prevent competition on recycling. These car manufacturers coordinated for over 15 years to avoid paying for recycling services, by agreeing 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. We will not tolerate cartels of any kind, and that includes those that suppress customer awareness and demand for more environmental-friendly products. High quality recycling in key sectors such as automotive will be central to meeting our circular economy objectives, not only to cut waste and emissions, but also to reduce dependencies, lower production costs and create a more sustainable and competitive industrial model in Europe.”