The Court of First Instance has confirmed the existence and gravity of infringements committed by the Volkswagen group which hindered the purchase of vehicles in Italy by final, non-Italian consumers. The fine imposed by the Commission was ECU 102 000 000; the Court has confirmed it in most respects, merely reducing it to Euro 90 000 000
On 28 January 1998, the Commission adopted a decision in which it found the conduct of Volkswagen, the German motor vehicle manufacturer, and its subsidiaries AUDI AG and AUTOGERMA SpA infringed the EC Treaty rules on freedom of competition in the common market.
The Commission complained that Volkswagen had entered into agreements with its subsidiaries and the Italian dealers in its distribution network in order to prohibit or restrict sales in Italy to final consumers from other Member States and to authorised dealers in its distribution network in other Member States. Amongst the means employed by Volkswagen in restricting those parallel imports from Italy were the imposition of supply quotas to Italian dealers and a bonus system discouraging them from selling to non-Italian customers.
The Commission found that the partitioning of a part of the common market was a serious infringement of the EC competition rules and imposed a fine of ECU 102 000 000 on Volkswagen. In essence the Court has dismissed Volkswagen's application seeking annulment of the Commission's decision.
The Court has found, firstly, that the allegations against Volkswagen were accurate: the Italian Volkswagen and Audi dealers were in fact induced to sell at least 85% of available vehicles in Italy, to the detriment of purchasers from other Member States who were unable to purchase from them at a time when the low level of the Italian lire offered advantageous prices to German and Austrian customers in particular.
The Court has pointed out that although motor vehicle manufacturers may protect their networks that does not authorise them to adopt measures which tend to partition the market.
The Court has upheld the Commission's argument, that Volkswagen committed an infringement which was particularly serious, the seriousness being magnified by the size of the Volkswagen group, and which was committed in spite of the extensive case-law on the subject. It points out that such an infringement runs counter to one of the fundamental objectives of the Community: the achievement of a single market.
The Court has nevertheless reduced the fine imposed on Volkswagen from ECU 102 000 000 to Euro 90 000 000, in particular because it found that the infringement had lasted for only three years (from 1993 to 1996); the Commission did not properly prove that the infringement continued after that period.
Finally, the Court has held that the Commission did not fully comply with the principle that an investigation is confidential: the fine which the Commission intended to impose on Volkswagen was in fact announced to the press before the decision was adopted. The Court points out that until a final decision terminating the proceedings has been taken the principle of business secrecy must govern the conduct of all proceedings relating to undertakings and their business relationships.
NB: An appeal against the judgment of the Court of First Instance, limited to points of law, may be lodged with the Court of Justice of the European Communities within two months of notification of the contested judgment.
This press release is an unofficial document for media use and does not bind the Court of First Instance. Available Languages: all the official languages of the European Communities. The judgment will be published in all the official languages of the European Communities
For further information, please contact Fionnuala Connolly, telephone: (00352) 4303 3355; fax: (00352) 4303 2731.