Swiss Federal Competition Commission opens investigation against BMW
The German car manufacturer is no stranger to the Competition Commission: BMW had to pay a huge fine of CHF157 million ($182 million) in the past decade for preventing parallel imports. The Federal Supreme Court finally dismissed an appeal by BMW in 2017.
Keystone / Joerg Koch
The Swiss Federal Competition Commission (Comco) has launched an investigation against BMW. The cartel watchdogs are investigating whether BMW induced a garage to invest millions of euros and then unexpectedly terminated the co-operation after the fact.
This content was published on
3 minutes
Keystone-SDA
The Competition Commission announced in a press release on Thursday that it would investigate whether BMW had relative market power vis-à-vis the garage and had therefore violated the Cartel Act.
The garage was an authorised dealer and service centre for BMW and Mini vehicles for several decades. It accuses BMW of offering it the prospect of expanding its business relationships and inducing it to invest millions.
BMW then terminated the co-operation unexpectedly without providing for an appropriate interim solution, the Competition Commission wrote. The garage was dependent on the continuation of the business relationship with BMW in order to amortise the millions invested.
When asked by the news agency AWP, Competition Commission Director Patrik Ducrey did not want to provide any information on the amount of the investments. However, he did say that they were significant investments. He could not say any more.
The presumption of innocence applies to BMW.
First case
This is the first case in connection with the new provision on relative market power, which came into force on January 1, 2022, said Competition Commission Director Patrik Ducrey when asked by the news agency AWP. This is the first time that a garage that has been terminated following significant investments has claimed an abuse of relative market power. “But we expected cases like this.”
The German car manufacturer is no stranger to the Competition Commission: BMW had to pay a huge fine of CHF157 million ($182 million) in the past decade for preventing parallel imports. The Federal Supreme Court finally dismissed an appeal by BMW in 2017.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
This content was published on
The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.
Study reveals food culture differences between Switzerland and neighbours
This content was published on
Three-quarters of Swiss people consider eating to be a pleasurable, social activity, a new survey reveals. Healthy eating, however, plays a much less important role, it found.
Precious archaeological vases and coins returned to Italian museum
This content was published on
The Italian authorities have recovered over 2,500 precious ancient coins, vases and small sculptures that had been illegally dug up and sold in Switzerland, Eurojust announced on Monday.
PrimeEnergy Cleantech declared bankrupt by Swiss authorities
This content was published on
PrimeEnergy Cleantech has been officially declared bankrupt, the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce (SOGC) reported on Monday.
This content was published on
The consumption of antibiotics has risen in Switzerland since the Covid-19 pandemic. However, compared to other European countries the Alpine country has one of the lowest levels of antibiotic usage.
Swiss financial watchdog foresees greater uncertainty due to geopolitics
This content was published on
The Swiss financial sector will face greater uncertainty due to the numerous geopolitical conflicts around the world, warns the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
Swiss museums to mark centenary of death of painter Félix Vallotton
This content was published on
Swiss museums will celebrate the centenary of the death of the artist Félix Vallotton (1865-1925) next year. A major retrospective is planned in Lausanne, his birthplace, in autumn.
Russian mission installs more ‘spy’ antennas in Geneva, Swiss TV report claims
This content was published on
Russian spies are strengthening their presence in Geneva, according to a report by Swiss public television, RTS. Russian officials have placed new satellite dishes on their diplomatic buildings without authorisation.
This content was published on
Switzerland should join NATO, as in the future it cannot rely on its long-standing tradition of neutrality for its defence, John Bolton, Donald Trump's former national security adviser, declared in an interview on Sunday.
This content was published on
A demonstration was held in Geneva on Sunday calling for an immediate end to the war in Ukraine. Around 50 Russians took part in the gathering outside the UN building.
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.