The long-running dispute between Deutsche Bahn (DB) and DAF over losses incurred as a result of truck manufacturers’ price-fixing agreements has come to an end. DB Competition Claims has reached an out-of-court settlement with DAF regarding the payment of compensation for the creation of a cartel among truck manufacturers.
DB Competition Claims GmbH, which brought together the compensation claims of DB, the Bundeswehr, airports and around 40 other companies, filed a lawsuit with the Munich Regional Court at the end of 2017.
DAF is the first cartel participant in this process to negotiate such an agreement, Deutsche Bahn said in an official statement.
“DAF has fulfilled its obligation to compensate for the damage caused by the truck cartel. This pleases us and all the damaged companies that have entrusted us with their claims,” commented Martin Seiler, DB Board Member for Human Resources and Legal Affairs.
“We hope that the remaining cartel participants will also prefer an out-of-court commercial settlement to years of costly court proceedings,” Seiler added.
DB Competition Claims claimed damages over €500 million plus interest. DB itself purchased thousands of trucks during the period of the cartel. DB Competition Claims and DAF have agreed not to disclose the amount of the settlement.
However, some conclusions can be drawn from the financial results published by PACCAR – owner of the DAF brand. They show that the company earned $4.60 billion ($8.76 per diluted share) in 2023, including a $446.4 million after-tax, non-recurring charge related to civil litigation in Europe.
Truck cartel scandal in Europe
In 2016 and 2017, the European Commission found that the truck manufacturers DAF, Daimler, Iveco, MAN, Volvo/Renault and Scania had entered into prohibited cartel agreements between 1997 and 2011.
The price-fixing concerned, among other things, the exchange of gross price lists and delays in the introduction of new emission-reducing technologies and their costs. Brussels imposed record fines totalling €3.8 billion on the cartel members.