Deutsche Bahn and Bundeswehr want gigantic compensation from truck manufacturers. Scandal involving price collusion

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This week, Deutsche Bahn has filed a lawsuit against truck manufacturing companies which took part in price collusion. It was on for years and during this time, DB and 40 other clients bought a total of 35 thousand trucks for a total amount exceeding 2 billion euro.

Deutsche Bahn filed a lawsuit in Munich on behalf of itself as well as a group of 40 clients, including the Bundeswehr. In 1997-2011, manufacturers DAF, Daimler, Iveco, MAN and Volvo/Renault sold to DB, the army, and 39 companies a total of 35,000 trucks for a total amount of over 2 billion euro, as informs the German transport portal eurotransport.de. Only DB Schenker, a company belonging to the DB group, has bought several thousand vehicles during these 14 years.

Experts estimate that during the cartel’s operation, the prices were too elevated by about 20 percent.

The members of the international transport cooperation platform Elvis AG are also seeking compensation. They filed a lawsuit in Dortmund against Daimler. They demand compensation in the amount of 90 million euro and 86 million euro of interest, i.e. a total amount of 176 million euro.

„The price collusion by major truck manufacturers has seriously damaged many small businesses. This is unacceptable,” said Jochen Eschborn, head of Elvis AG.

Record penalty imposed by the EC

In July 2016, the manufacturers of MAN, Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco and DAF trucks were punished with a record-breaking fine in the history of the European Union, amounting in total to almost 3 billion euro. The collusion will cost the companies much more – carriers from all over Europe are fighting for compensations. It is estimated that in the scale of the entire European Union, they may win up to 100 billion euro.

On September 27 this year, the European Commission also fined the Swedish car company Scania for being part of the cartel. According to the EC decision, the penalty amounts to 880 million euro. As determined by the European Commission, for 14 years the company, together with five manufacturers already punished in 2016 (MAN, Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco and DAF), has been determining for the prices of trucks and the costs of new technologies limiting exhaust emissions. Scania filed a motion this month to appeal the European Commission’s decision concerning the fine imposed.

 

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