Millions of UK motorists could be compensated for price-fixing by German car makers

Motorists in the UK may be eligible for millions of pounds in compensation for alleged price-fixing among German car giants, after the European Commission (EC) announced antitrust regulators were investigating a possible German auto industry cartel following a tip-off.

The crux of the matter was whether carmakers, VW, Audi, Porsche, Mercedes and BMW used German industry committees to discuss pricing of components and technologies, and whether such talks amounted to anti-competitive behaviour.

In the event of the allegations proving right, millions of UK owners of German vehicles may well be able to sue for compensation, according to commentators.

The car industry is facing fines on both sides of the Atlantic to the tune of billions of dollars, due to anti-competitive behaviour of manufacturers of lighting systems, engine coolers and bearings.

Shares of German car manufactures closed lower yesterday, due to uncertainty over the possible fines, VW shares were down 1.4 per cent, while BMW and Daimler slid 2.8 per cent and 2.7 per cent respectively.

According to Exane BNP Paribas automotive analyst Stuart Pearson, little was known about the allegations, but no signs had emerged about fixing prices charged to consumers, Daily Mail reported.

More ugly details could yet emerge, leaving German manufacturers - and the EU auto sector - still firmly in the sin bin for now," he added.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg columnist, Leonid Bershidsky, in an opinion piece titled, ''Germans are too hard on their automakers'' writes that the auto woes were also an immediate political threat to chancellor Angela Merkel, who shared a comfortable relationship with the car lobby and had pushed for softer European emissions legislation.

The Green Party, has seized the opportunity to slam Merkel and her conservative Christian Democratic Party for covering up the collusion.

He questions whether the behaviour of the automakers was really so bad? He points out that they had long cooperated openly in a number of areas such as buying windshield wipers, investing in mapping technology and building networks of charging stations for electric cars.

''Seeking consensus and compromise to avoid unreasonable expense is part of the German culture, not just German business practice'', he writes.