The European Commission announced unannounced inspections of tire manufacturers, including Michelin, Continental, Nokian and Goodyear, raising concerns about possible price collusion (AFP/Archives/Joël SAGET)
The European Commission announced unannounced inspections of tire manufacturers including Michelin, Continental, Nokian and Goodyear on Tuesday, raising concerns about possible price fixing.
The Commission, which ensures competition in the European Union, said it feared “that price coordination has taken place” between several companies in the sector, in a press release published in Brussels.
It does not reveal the names of these companies, but specifies that the products concerned by the inspections are new replacement tires for passenger cars, vans, trucks and buses, sold in Europe.
– Michelin contests –
The world number one, the French group Michelin, has confirmed that it is one of the manufacturers concerned, but it “categorically” contests the existence of “anti-competitive practices as mentioned by the European Commission in its communication today, and a fortiori any practice of coordination on prices”.
In a statement to AFP, Michelin emphasizes that it “scrupulously applies competition rules in all the countries in which it” operates.
The German tire manufacturer Continental has also confirmed that it is concerned by the investigations carried out in several member countries of the European Union.
“Inspections by antitrust authorities are underway at Continental in Germany,” a spokesperson told AFP.
Its Finnish competitor Nokian also admitted to being targeted, in a statement on its website.
“The European Commission today began an unannounced inspection at the headquarters of Nokian Tires in Nokia, Finland,” he wrote, specifying that he had no information on the outcome of the inspection and could not make a comment. “Nokian Tires is fully cooperating with the authorities,” assures the group.
The American Goodyear is also one of the companies suspected (GETTY/AFP/Archives/Jared C. Tilton)
The American Goodyear is also one of the companies suspected. “Our European offices were subject to unscheduled inspections today. It is too early to speculate on what exactly may have happened, but we are fully cooperating,” a spokesperson told AFP.
Contacted by AFP, the companies Bridgestone, Pirelli, Hankook, Yokohama and Nexen did not react immediately.
During the inspections carried out on Tuesday, “Commission officials were accompanied by their counterparts from the national competition authorities of the Member States where the inspections took place”, it is specified in the press release from the European Commission, which does not cite nor the countries concerned.
“Unannounced inspections constitute a preliminary step in any investigation into alleged anti-competitive practices. The fact that the Commission carries out such inspections does not mean that the companies are guilty and does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself “, underlined the European executive.
In this type of competition violation, a company found guilty can be fined up to 10% of its annual global turnover.
No legal deadline is set for carrying out this type of investigation.
Shares of companies in the sector lost ground on the stock market after the announcement of these surprise inspections. Continental ended the session down 1.51% to 75.88 euros, while Michelin lost 0.84% to 30.84 euros.
© 2024 AFP
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