BRUSSELS: The European Commission announced yesterday it has slapped fines totalling nearly €1bn on a cartel of European and Japanese companies that supply ball bearings to car and truck manufacturers.
The six companies “colluded to secretly coordinate their pricing strategy vis-a-vis automotive customers for more than seven years” said the commission in announcing the €953m ($1.3bn) in fines.
The biggest fine of €370.5m was imposed on Germany’s Schaeffler, followed by Sweden’s SKF at €315.1m. Of the four Japanese companies, three were fined: NTN €201.4m, NSK €62.4m and NFC nearly €4m.
The fourth company, JTEKT, escaped a fine as it reported the cartel to the European Commission.
The other five companies had their fines reduced as they agreed to settle with the Commission.
“Today’s decision is a further milestone in the Commission’s ongoing effort to bust cartels in the markets for car parts,” said Competition Commission Joaquin Almunia.AFP
