AFP, Brussels :
The European Commission announced Wednesday it has slapped fines totalling nearly 1 billion euros 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 953 million euros ($1.3 billion) in fines.
The biggest fine of 370.5 million euros was imposed on Germany’s Schaeffler, followed by Sweden’s SKF at 315.1 million euros.
Of the four Japanese companies, three were fined: NTN 201.4 million euros, NSK 62.4 million euros and NFC nearly four million euros.
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.
The Commission said the companies colluded from 2004 to 2011 to pass along steel cost increases to vehicle manufacturers.
European vehicle manufacturers, which are estimated to have bought over 2 billion euros in bearings annually, would request bids to select their suppliers for the metal spheres which reduce friction between moving parts in cars and trucks.
The commission said the six bearings manufacturers had colluded and shared sensitive information in submitting bids.
