German luxury car maker Daimler AG's (DDAIF.PK) Mercedes-Benz has been fined 350 million yuan or $56.49 million, by a Chinese pricing regulator for violating anti-monopoly laws and price fixing of vehicles. It is the highest fine slapped on automakers that were probed last year for similar charges in China.
Other car makers such as Volkswagen, Audi and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles were also probed. Volkswagen and a sales unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles were fined a combined $46 million. Some dealers of Mercedes-Benz were also fined a total of 7.7 million yuan.
The probe were a part of the Chinese government's anti-monopoly investigation into more than 1,000 domestic and foreign companies in the auto sector.
As part of an anti-monopoly investigation, the officials had launched an investigation in July and raided Mercedes-Benz's office in Shanghai and dealerships in August.
The Jiangsu provincial pricing bureau found that Mercedes-Benz had pressurized dealers to set minimum sales prices on some of its cars and spare parts, and warned of consequences if they do not fall in line.
The regulator said in a statement that monopoly agreements were signed with dealers to cap the lowest sales prices of E-Class, S-Class models and certain spare parts in the Jiangsu province of China.
The regulator noted that Mercedes-Benz violated the anti-monopoly law, damaged fair market competition and harmed consumer rights.
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