CHINA's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has fined a Chinese venture of Volkswagen and the China sales unit of Fiat's Chrysler a combined US$46 million for price-fixing, Reuters reports.
The first ever penalties exacted by Chinese regulators prompted speculation that fines would be levied against Daimler's Mercedes-Benz and Tata Motor Ltd's Jaguar Land Rover, now under investigation for anti-competitive behaviour.
The price regulator in Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei province, said it would fine the sales unit of Volkswagen's joint venture FAW-Volkswagen Automobile CNY249 million (US$40.6 million) for fixing Audi prices.
Chrysler's China sales unit will be fined $5.2 million for operating a price monopoly, anti-trust regulator by the NDRC. Separately, three Chrysler dealers in Shanghai and eight Audi dealers in Hubei would also be fined.
Companies can be fined up to 10 per cent of their annual China revenues for breaking the anti-monopoly law. But the FAW-Volkswagen penalty represents just six per cent of Audi's turnover in Hubei, said one source.US Treasury Secretary
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