Daimler and Volvo Face Retrial in €560 Million Cartel Suit

Trucks outside the Daimler AG truck factory in Woerth, Germany.

(Bloomberg) — Daimler Truck Holding AG and Volvo AB will face a retrial in a €560 million ($603 million) case over a price fixing cartel, a German appeals court ruled.

Judges in Munich overturned a previous ruling dismissing the case that’s seeking to make truckmakers pay for overcharging customers for their vehicles. Among the defendants are also Volkswagen AG’s MAN unit and Iveco Group NV.

Daimler Truck said it disagrees with the ruling and may appeal after reviewing judgment. The claims are unfounded, the company added. Volvo and MAN declined to comment. Iveco didn’t immediately reply to emails seeking comment.

The suit is part of a group of cases filed by Financialright GmbH on behalf of 3,000 companies that said they paid too much for their trucks because prices were fixed. The lower court in 2020 ruled Financialright’s model of buying the claims isn’t legal. The appeals court corrected that decision, allowing the case to restart in trial court.

The plaintiffs are relying on findings by the European Union, which targeted the truckmakers in an antitrust probe. The EU investigation revealed they fixed prices of medium and heavy-duty vehicles over 14 years, leading to large fines in 2016 and 2017. Since then, a number of big customers have sued the manufacturers for compensation in various EU countries.

The suit originally sought €867 million for more than 3,200 companies. It has meanwhile been reduced, both in terms of the number of claims and amount sought.

The case is: OLG München, 29 U 1319/20 Kart.

(Updates with company statements in third paragraph.)

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