Competition body fines Volvo Romania for banning competition among regional truck dealers

Romania’s competition body Consiliul Concurentei slapped a RON 13 mln (EUR 2.65 mln) fine on Volvo Romania for contractual agreements that impeded direct competition among the dealers of Renault medium and heavy trucks that were assigned on a geographical base.

Volvo Romania admitted the violation of the Competition Law and, as a result, benefited from a reduction of the fine, News.ro reported.

The agreements regarding market sharing were enacted and enforced through contractual clauses, negotiated and signed by Volvo Romania with the distributors. Through these agreements, companies were banned from competing with each other, which impacted the competition at a national level, as well as trade between member states, the Competition Council concluded.

The investigation was triggered by a leniency application submitted by a distributor who was granted immunity from fines for cooperating with the competition authority under the leniency programme.

Volvo Romania, a member of the Volvo Group, is the successor of Renault Trucks Romania SRL, with which it merged in 2013. It is the only importer of new, medium and heavy Renault trucks on the Romanian market.

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