Continental and other tire groups targeted by EU searches

(Reuters) – The European Commission carried out searches on Tuesday at tire groups in several European countries, including Germany’s Continental, over fears regarding possible cartel price coordination.

The European Commission said it had raided several tire groups in a number of EU countries, without providing further details, in line with its policy.

“We can confirm that as of today, investigations by European competition authorities are underway at Continental in Germany,” said a spokesperson for the German group.

Continental shares fell almost 3% in Frankfurt after the announcement of these searches, while Pirelli lost more than 1% in Milan and Michelin lost 1% in Paris.

According to European authorities, the products affected by the inspections are new replacement tires for passenger cars, vans, trucks and buses sold in the European Economic Area (EEA), made up of EU countries, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

“The Commission is concerned that price coordination took place between the inspected companies, including through public communications,” the EU executive said in a statement.

Companies found guilty of breaching EU competition rules face fines of up to 10% of their overall turnover.

In recent years, the European Commission has imposed fines on nearly a dozen cartels in the automobile industry, including suppliers of bearings, car seats and even braking systems.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, with contributions from Giulio Piovaccari in Milan and Enrico Sciacovelli; French version Stéphanie Hamel, edited by Blandine Hénault)