Photo: original photo by autoevolution
For a few months now, Chinese publications have reported that Mercedes-Benz might've manipulated prices of aftersales services in the Asian country. For example, the German manufacturer hiked the real price of various car parts that couldn't be bought anywhere else but from official channels in China such as dealerships and service departments.
An investigation was launched by the Jiangsu Province Price Bureau and guess what: hard evidence was found and Mercedes-Benz was accused for anticompetitive practices. In 2008, an anti-monopoly law has been put into effect, permitting the National Development and Reform Commission to fine companies for these kind of practices. The penalty varies between 1 and 10 percent of the guilty company's revenue in China in the previous year. This bit of news comes a week after Audi has been fined ¥250 million ($40.7 million) for a similar pricing monopoly.
Speaking to the Xinhua News Agency, Zhou Gao, the chief of the antitrust agency previously mentioned, declared that Mercedes-Benz' case "is a typical case of a vertical monopoly in which the carmaker uses its leading position to control the prices of its spare parts, repair and maintenance services in downstream markets." Want a specific example of price manipulation? A report published by the Global Times tells that all Mercedes C-Class components have been selling for twelve times their real market price. Not cool at all.
As if the manufacturer was expecting this nasty and expensive outcome, Mercedes-Benz China has announced at the beginning of August that it will cut the prices of spare parts by 15 percent on average for all models starting from the 1st of September to keep the regulators happy. But that doesn't really cut enough to be frank. The Chinese may be a little bit too passionate about rear seat legroom and premium brands, but it's a fact nobody that paid good money for a premium car likes to be ripped off.
Speaking to the Xinhua News Agency, Zhou Gao, the chief of the antitrust agency previously mentioned, declared that Mercedes-Benz' case "is a typical case of a vertical monopoly in which the carmaker uses its leading position to control the prices of its spare parts, repair and maintenance services in downstream markets." Want a specific example of price manipulation? A report published by the Global Times tells that all Mercedes C-Class components have been selling for twelve times their real market price. Not cool at all.
As if the manufacturer was expecting this nasty and expensive outcome, Mercedes-Benz China has announced at the beginning of August that it will cut the prices of spare parts by 15 percent on average for all models starting from the 1st of September to keep the regulators happy. But that doesn't really cut enough to be frank. The Chinese may be a little bit too passionate about rear seat legroom and premium brands, but it's a fact nobody that paid good money for a premium car likes to be ripped off.
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