Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Scania appeals judgment that it violated EU antitrust rules, (Apr 12, 2022)

By Martin A. Steinberg, J.D.

Scania was fined over €880 million for improperly colluding with other European truck manufacturers on pricing and emissions technology.

Scania, a multinational manufacturer of trucks, buses, and industrial and marine power systems, announced that on April 8, 2022, it filed an appeal of a judgment by the European Union (EU) General Court (GC) upholding a finding of the European Commission (EC) that Scania colluded with other major truck manufacturers to form a cartel with the intent of sharing pricing and technology information in violation of EU antitrust rules. The GC found, in its February 2022 decision, that the EC established that collusive contracts existed at various levels within the company, from the top levels of management to lower-level employees. Scania’s appeal is with the European Court of Justice, the highest court in the EU.

Background. In September 2017, the EC imposed a fine of over €880 million on Scania finding that from 1997 to 2011 it participated in a cartel with five other European truck manufacturers. The EC investigation revealed that Scania had engaged in a cartel by coordinating prices for medium and heavy trucks, delaying the introduction of emission technologies to comply with the European emissions standards; and passing on to customers the costs for the emissions technologies required to comply with the increasingly strict emissions standards. The EC implemented a hybrid procedure that combined its settlement procedure with the standard administrative process implemented in cartel matters. The hybrid process continued though Scania withdrew from the settlement negotiations. The EC concluded the entire process by fining Scania.

Appeal to the GC. Scania appealed to the GC challenging the hybrid process as an infringement on its right to the presumption of innocence, the right to a defense, and the EC’s duty of impartiality. In its decision rendered in February 2022, The GC rejected Scania’s contention that by engaging in settlement negotiations with the EC, the EC lost its ability to remain impartial when it moved onto the standard administrative process. Nothing that the EC stated regarding the settlement negotiations revealed that it had already concluded that Scania was liable. Furthermore, Scania failed to establish that the EC was biased.

The GC found that the EC established that collusive contracts existed at various levels within the company, from the top levels of management to lower-level employees. The GC further noted that the kinds of information shared, the participating undertakings, the objectives of the parties and the products concerned remained the same throughout the infringement period. Though top management was not directly involved throughout the time period, the cartel continued at various levels of the company throughout the entire time. Accordingly, the EC was correct in imputing infringement to the entire company. The GC upheld the fine.

Appeal to the European Court of Justice. On April 8, 2022, Scania filed an appeal of the GC’s decision to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which is the highest court in the EU. Scania continued to contest the findings of the EC and asserted that the company neither entered into any agreement with other European truck manufacturers regarding pricing, nor colluded to postpone introducing new engines that complied with EU exhaust emissions laws.

Companies: Scania

News: Antitrust GCNNews