WIREDGOV

The OFT has yesterday announced that Mercedes-Benz and three of its commercial vehicle dealers, Ciceley, Road Range and Enza, have admitted infringing competition law and agreed to pay fines totalling £2.6 million.

Provided it continues to cooperate with the OFT, a further dealer, Northside, which has also admitted infringing competition law, will avoid a fine, having been the first company to come forward after the investigation commenced to provide valuable evidence of collusion in return for immunity from penalty under the OFT's leniency policy.

Yesterday's announcement concerns three separate admitted infringements of competition law involving the distribution of Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles. The dealers involved are mainly active in areas within the North of England and parts of Wales and Scotland. The nature of the infringements varies but all contain at least some element of market sharing, price coordination or exchange of commercially sensitive information. Not every settlement party was involved in every infringement and the conduct, products and duration vary from infringement to infringement. The infringements being settled relate to:

• the distribution of vans between 15 January 2008 and 26 January 2010, involving Ciceley and Northside
• the distribution of vans between 1 February 2008 and 26 January 2010, involving Ciceley and Road Range
• the distribution of trucks between 8 December 2009 and 26 January 2010, involving Ciceley, Enza, Mercedes-Benz and Road Range.

Ali Nikpay, OFT Senior Director of Cartels, said:

'These cases send a clear signal that the OFT will take firm action against companies that collude to deny customers the benefit of fair competition regardless of the size of the firms involved or geographic scope of the investigation.

'These cases also underline that the OFT can uncover cartels even in cases where the businesses involved do not blow the whistle, as well as being a concrete illustration of the benefits of businesses acting quickly and cooperating at the earliest opportunity so as to qualify for immunity from fines.'

The agreed fines include a 15 per cent reduction from the total penalties of £3.07 million that the OFT would otherwise expect to impose, to reflect the companies' admissions and agreement to a streamlined administrative procedure. This means that the cases can be brought to a conclusion more quickly and efficiently and that the wider deterrence effects of the OFT's intervention can be felt sooner than would otherwise be the case. For the settling parties, it also means that they can draw a line under the matter and move on.

Notes to Editors

1. The OFT has entered into settlement agreements with the following undertakings in the following amounts:
   
   Mercedes-Benz UK Limited, its parent Daimler UK Limited and its ultimate parent Daimler AG (Mercedes) £1,492,646
   
   Road Range Limited (Road Range) £115,774
   
   Ciceley Commercials Limited and its ultimate parent Ciceley Limited (Ciceley) £659,675
   
   Enza Motors Limited, its parent Enza Holdings Limited and its ultimate parent Enza Group Limited (Enza) £347,198
2. Provided it continues to cooperate with the OFT, Northside (which comprises Northside Truck & Van Limited and its ultimate parent S.A.H. Limited) will avoid a penalty as it was the first to apply for immunity, after the OFT had commenced its investigation. As such, it was not invited to explore settlement. Under the OFT's leniency policy, an undertaking may be granted immunity from penalties or a significant reduction in penalty in return for reporting certain categories of infringements of the Competition Act 1998 and assisting the OFT with its investigation.
   
3. The OFT's investigation concerns the distribution of Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles (trucks and vans) by dealers who are mainly active in areas within the North of England and parts of Wales and Scotland.  For more information about this investigation, see the case page  Investigation into the distribution of Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles.
   
4. The OFT's starting point in calculating financial penalties is the seriousness of the infringement and the turnover of each undertaking in the relevant market. The OFT also takes into account a number of other factors including any mitigating and/or aggravating factors. In line with the OFT's September 2012 penalties guidance currently in force, the financial penalties in this case fall to be calculated having regard to the calculation mechanism set out in the penalties guidance in force when the Statements of Objections was issued in this case, which was the December 2004 penalties guidance. The full details of the penalty calculation will be included in the infringement decisions to be published when adopted in due course.