Anti-competitive conduct in relation to vehicle recycling and advertising of recycling-related features

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued an infringement decision after finding anti-competitive conduct in the advertising of recycling-related features of new cars, and in the recycling of old or written-off (or 鈥榚nd-of-life鈥�) cars and vans.

From:
Competition and Markets Authority
Published
15 March 2022
Last updated
1 April 2025 鈥� See all updates
Case type:
CA98 and civil cartels
Case state:
Open
Market sector:
Motor industry
Opened:
15 March 2022

Case timetable

Date Action
1 April 2025 Infringement decision issued to the parties and settlement announced
18 March 2025 Statement of objections issued
14 March 2025 Settlement agreed
September 2024 to March 2025 Investigation continuing: including information gathering, analysis and review of information gathered
April 2024 to September 2024 Investigation continuing: including information gathering, analysis and review of information gathered
July 2023 to March 2024 Investigation continuing: including information gathering, analysis and review of information gathered
December 2022 to July 2023 Investigation continuing: including information gathering, analysis and review of information gathered
March to December 2022 Initial investigation: including information gathering, analysis and review of information gathered
March 2022 Investigation opened

Settlement, statement of objections and infringement decision

1 April 2025: The CMA issued an infringement decision under the Competition Act 1998 finding that a number of vehicle manufacturers and two trade associations breached competition law, leading to fines totalling over 拢77 million.

The decision is addressed to the following vehicle manufacturers:

  • BMW (UK) Limited and its ultimate parent company BMW AG
  • Ford Motor Company Limited, Ford-Werke GmbH, Ford of Europe GmbH and their ultimate parent company Ford Motor Company
  • Jaguar Land Rover Limited, Jaguar Land Rover Holdings Limited and their ultimate parent company Tata Motors Limited
  • Mercedes-Benz UK Limited and its ultimate parent company Mercedes-Benz Group AG
  • Mitsubishi Motor R&D Europe GmbH and Mitsubishi Motors Europe B.V. and their ultimate parent company, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation
  • Nissan Automotive Europe SAS, Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK Limited, Nissan Motor Parts Centre B.V., Nissan Motor (GB) Limited and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd
  • Renault Retail Group UK Limited, Renault U.K. Limited, Renault S.A. and Renault S.A.S.
  • Toyota (GB) Plc, Toyota Motor Europe NV/SA and their ultimate parent company, Toyota Motor Corporation
  • Vauxhall Motors Limited, Opel Automobile GmbH (as economic successor to Adam Opel GmbH), Peugeot Motor Company Plc, PSA Automobiles S.A. and Citroen U.K. Limited, and their ultimate parent company, Stellantis N.V.
  • the former parent company of Vauxhall and Opel, General Motors Company
  • Volkswagen Group UK Limited and its parent company Volkswagen Group AG

The decision is also addressed to the following trade associations:

  • Association des Constructeurs Europ茅ens d鈥橝utomobiles
  • The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited

The CMA imposed fines totalling 拢77,688,917 which includes a 20% settlement discount to reflect that they admitted their role in the infringement and agreed to cooperate with the CMA.

Mercedes-Benz reported the suspected conduct to the CMA, and therefore benefits from immunity from any fine under the CMA鈥檚 leniency policy.

The CMA infringement decision follows a Statement of Objections issued to the parties on 18 March 2025.

Penalty notice

Court of Appeal unanimously upholds the CMA鈥檚 appeal relating to jurisdictional challenges brought by BMW AG and VW AG

17 January 2024: In a unanimous judgment, the Court of Appeal has fully upheld the CMA鈥檚 appeal against a combined High Court and Competition Appeal Tribunal judgment which had limited the CMA鈥檚 power to issue formal information requests to overseas entities.

Update on High Court and Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) judgment

8 February 2023: The High Court and CAT have handed down a combined judgment in relation to: (i) a judicial review application by Volkswagen AG relating to the CMA鈥檚 decision to issue a notice requiring it to produce documents and information under section 26 of the Competition Act 1998 (CA98); and (ii) an appeal by BMW AG of the CMA鈥檚 decision to impose a penalty under section 40A CA98 for BMW AG鈥檚 failure, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a requirement imposed on it pursuant to section 26 of the CA98. The High Court and CAT have found in Volkswagen AG鈥檚 and BMW AG鈥檚 favour.

The .

A CMA spokesperson said:

鈥淲e are disappointed with today鈥檚 judgment. We need effective tools to investigate suspected unlawful conduct and ensure robust enforcement under the Competition Act. Increasingly, our investigations involve cross-border, multi-national organisations, and today鈥檚 judgment substantially risks undermining our ability to investigate, enforce against and deter anti-competitive conduct that harms consumers, businesses and markets in the UK.

鈥淕iven the importance of today鈥檚 judgment, we will be seeking permission to appeal.鈥�

Notice of penalty

8 December 2022: The CMA has published a notice of a penalty imposed on Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW AG) under section 40A of the CA98. The CMA imposed the penalty on 6 December 2022 because BMW AG, without reasonable excuse, failed to comply with a requirement imposed on it pursuant to section 26 of the CA98.

Case information

On 15 March 2022, the CMA launched an investigation into suspected breaches of competition law relating to the recycling of old or written-off vehicles, specifically cars and vans, which are known in the industry as 鈥榚nd-of-life vehicles鈥� or ELVs. The investigation concerns suspected infringements of Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 (鈥楥A98鈥�) involving a number of vehicle manufacturers and some industry bodies.

No assumption should be made at this stage that the CA98 has been infringed. The CMA has not reached a view as to whether there is sufficient evidence of an infringement of competition law for it to issue a statement of objections to any of the parties under investigation. Not all cases result in the CMA issuing a statement of objections.

If the CMA issues a statement of objections, it will provide the addressee(s) of that statement of objections with an opportunity to make written and oral representations, before it makes a final decision. See here for further detail of the CMA鈥檚 investigation procedures in CA98 cases.

Personal data

The CMA may collect, use and share personal data for its investigations, including investigations under the Competition Act 1998. This includes processing personal data for the purposes of the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

For more information about how the CMA handles personal information, please see the CMA鈥檚 Personal Information Charter.

Contact

For any enquiries relating to this case, please contact:

Updates to this page

Published 15 March 2022
Last updated 1 April 2025 show all updates

  1. Settlement, Statement of Objections and infringement decision published.

  2. Update added to case timetable

  3. Update added to case timetable and contact information

  4. Court of Appeal full judgement published

  5. Court of Appeal decision published

  6. Case timetable updated.

  7. Update on High Court and Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) judgment.

  8. Case timetable updated.

  9. Penalty notice published.

  10. First published.

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