• The importer of Iveco trucks together with the official distributors of these vehicles may have entered into a multi-year conspiracy to restrain competition.
• President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection Tomasz Chróstny initiated antimonopoly proceedings in this case - charges were filed against 11 companies and 11 managers who could be responsible for the prohibited actions.

“We have evidence that the sale of Iveco trucks may have been conducted in violation of the competition rules. The importer, Iveco Poland, and official distributors were able to share the market, inflate prices and exchange confidential data for up to 10 years ,” says the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

Information obtained, among other things, during searches at the companies’ headquarters shows that Iveco Poland assigned areas of responsibility to its distributors. Dealers were supposed to sell vehicles only to customers who were assigned to those areas. If a prospective buyer from elsewhere requested a quote, the salesperson directed the buyer to a competing distributor or presented him an unfavorable offer.

Iveco Poland was able to maintain market division through a policy of rebates and periodic bonuses for sales performance, and by disciplining dealers who broke out of the arrangements.

Dealers also were able to pass information about potential customers to each other, as well as agree among themselves which dealer would have the right to make an offer to a particular customer to purchase a vehicle. In such cases, other dealers were warned not to contact this customer or make competing offers. Some of the information obtained by the Office also concerned requests that other distributors do not submit bids in specific public tenders.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection also has evidence indicating that traders exchanged information about the prices they charged. This was primarily to agree on the terms of the offers presented to customers in such a way as to discourage potential buyers from purchasing trucks from a different dealer than the agreement between the sellers implied.

“The collusion we suspect may be why, for 10 years, Iveco truck buyers have not been free to choose where they purchase a vehicle. They may also pay more for them than they would under fair competition. The use of practices restricting competition is subject to severe financial penalties - up to 10% of turnover for entrepreneurs and up to PLN 2 million for managers,” says the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection Tomasz Chróstny.

The proceedings are being conducted against the following entrepreneurs: Iveco Poland from Warsaw, DBK from Olsztyn, CTC from Ruda Śląska, Przedsiębiorstwo Usługowo-Handlowe Exmot from Bydgoszcz, Siltruck from Skoczów, Trans-Poz under restructuring from Swadzim, Uni-Truck from Zielona Góra, STC from Rzeszów, ADF Auto from Wrocław, On Road Truck Services from Poznań and Truck Nord Center from Sierpc.

The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection also brought charges against 11 managers who may have been directly responsible for the prohibited arrangements.

Other proceedings involving truck sales

This is not the first proceeding in which the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is investigating possible collusion by entrepreneurs selling trucks. Cases involving DAF dealers are pending. The first one concerns  five sales representatives and nine managers, in the second case the President of the Office has filed charges against three dealers of the make. Moreover, the European Commission issued in 2016 decision regarding the cartel of truck manufacturers. In it, it found that Daimler, MAN, Scania, Iveco, DAF and Volvo-Renault had fixed prices for vehicles to be used in the European Economic Area (EEA).

The President of the Office reminds that anyone who has suffered loss as a result of a breach of competition law may file a civil lawsuit against any of the entities that have broken the law. When filing a claim, it is necessary to indicate the amount of compensation sought. In determining the amount due, consideration should be given to the counterfactual scenario, i.e. what the market situation would have been like in the absence of the infringement. As a rule, the loss shall be the excess price paid as a result of the anti-competitive practices.

Entrepreneurs and managers involved in anti-competitive collusion are reminded that they can avoid severe monetary penalties through the leniency program.  Please call the special phone number for details: 22 55 60 555. The Office’s lawyers will answer all of your questions related to the leniency program - also those asked anonymously.

The Office also offers a programme allowing it to acquire information from anonymous whistle-blowers. Visit https://konkurencja.uokik.gov.pl/sygnalista/ and fill out a simple form. The pan-European system we rely on guarantees full anonymity, also towards the Authority’s staff.

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL