Top German Automakers Sued in U.S. Over Two-Decade 'Cartel'

German’s major automakers were accused in a U.S. lawsuit of acting as a cartel, colluding for nearly two decades to limit the pace of technological advances in their vehicles and stifle competition -- allegations that widen the scope of the latest scandal to hit the nation’s auto industry.

BMW AG, Daimler AG, Volkswagen AG and its Audi and Porsche brands shared competitive information about vehicle technologies with one another from 1996 through at least 2015 in violation of antitrust laws, according to a complaint filed Friday in San Francisco federal court.

The supplier of VW’s cheat software, Robert Bosch Gmbh, was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

“We consider this class action suit to lack merit,” Han Tjan, a spokesman for Daimler, said in an emailed statement. “We will defend ourselves by all legal means.”

BMW spokesman Kenn Sparks and VW’s Jeannine Ginivan said their companies had no comment on Friday. The other companies didn’t respond to messages and emails seeking comment after normal business hours.

The suit filed Friday is the second in the U.S. to allege the anti-competitive actions by the companies. Drivers filed a similar class-action suit in New Jersey federal court on Tuesday alleging German automakers created an anti-competitive culture in the U.S. and conspired over 20 years to increase prices of luxury vehicles while sharing technology to skirt emissions norms.

News from: https://washpost.bloomberg.com

Mexican auto suppliers strategize for NAFTA talks

MEXICO CITY — President Donald Trump has made an example out of global automakers that produce in Mexico for the U.S. But auto parts makers south of the border also have a huge financial stake in the upcoming trade talks.

Suppliers here are maintaining a united front with the Mexican auto industry, but the parts community also has strategies for a favorable revision of the North American Free Trade Agreement, industry officials said at a conference here this month.

"The auto parts industry that exports to the U.S. is bigger in terms of sales than all the autos and all the heavy trucks that we sell to the U.S.”, said Oscar Albin, executive president of Mexico's National Auto Parts Manufacturing Association.

In raw numbers, he said, auto parts exports to the U.S. last year were worth about $63 billion vs. $42 billion for light vehicles and $7.5 billion for heavy trucks. About 80 percent of the $80 billion Mexican parts industry's output ends up at U.S. auto factories, while only about 12 percent is sold at home, according to figures from Albin's industry group.

One possible way to expand the pie for North American players, Albin suggested, is finding ways to reduce the participation of supplier nations that contribute little to the NAFTA bloc.

For example, North American countries imported about $78 billion in auto parts last year from China, Japan, Germany and South Korea. Because Japanese, German and Korean automakers make cars in the region, those imports are understandable, Albin said.

It's harder to justify the $30 billion of imported Chinese parts, Albin said. Replacing some of those imports could be an opportunity to create jobs in North America, he said.




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