The Swiss voice in the world since 1935

Cartel fined for fixing price of Volkswagens

Volkswagen car
The seven cartel members had fixed the prices of new Volkswagen cars for years Keystone / Filip Singer

A group of Volkswagen dealers in southern Switzerland has been fined CHF44 million ($46 million) by the Federal Competition Commission (Comco). The seven cartel members, including car importer AMAG, had fixed the prices of new Volkswagen cars for years.

“The car dealers colluded on all sales activities in Ticino. They made deals on public sector submissions, agreed on a pricing policy for the sale of new cars to private individuals, and divided canton Ticino into areas of activity,” Comco said in a statementExternal link on Thursday. The cartel offences took place between 2006 and 2018.

AMAG, Switzerland’s largest car dealership, and six car dealers for VW brands – Autoronchetti Sagl, Garage Karpf & Co./Garage 3 Valli, Garage Carrozzeria Maffeis, Garage Nessi, Garage Weber-Monaco and Tognetti Auto – were involved, Comco said.

“Their aim was to reduce competition among car dealers and to keep the sales prices of new vehicles for private individuals and the public sector at an excessive level,” it said.

AMAG accepted the fine and said in a statement that it had cooperated with the authorities to clarify the incidents. AMAG boss Mathias Gabler apologised and admitted that the company “had previously not always behaved legally and ethically in Ticino”. The company “had taken personnel and organisational measures” as a result of the incidents, he said.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Lufthansa abolishes in-flight sales - Swiss sticks to it

More

Lufthansa set to abolish in-flight sales, SWISS to keep them

This content was published on Perfumes, cigarettes, sunglasses: The German airline Lufthansa will no longer sell these products on long-haul flights in future. Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss is sticking to in-flight sales for the time being.

Read more: Lufthansa set to abolish in-flight sales, SWISS to keep them
Karaoke tram runs through Basel during the ESC

More

Karaoke tram to run through Basel during Eurovision

This content was published on A karaoke tram will be doing the rounds in Basel during the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). During a 90-minute journey, guests can sing and dance for free in a vintage car.

Read more: Karaoke tram to run through Basel during Eurovision

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR