The Commission has fined 15 major car manufacturers and the European Automobiles Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) a total of around €458 million ($507,800,000) for participating in a long-lasting cartel concerning end-of-life vehicle recycling. Mercedes-Benz was not fined, as it revealed the cartel to the Commission under the leniency program. All companies admitted their involvement in the cartel and agreed to settle the case.
An End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) is a car that is no longer fit for use, either due to age, wear and tear, or damage. These vehicles are dismantled and processed for recycling, recovery, and disposal.
The goal is to minimize waste and recover valuable materials like metal, plastic, and glass. To further support EU’s decarbonization and recycling ambition, the Commission has proposed a flexibility measure to help manufacturers comply with their CO2 emission targets between 2025 and 2027 for new cars and vans. It has also proposed, as part of the EU’s cohesion policy mid-term review, funding incentives for the deployment of recharging infrastructure. Finally, the Commission has launched a fact-finding exercise on how European companies procure and recycle certain critical raw materials, to support greater industry cooperation in this field in line with EU competition rules.
The infringement
The Commission’s investigation revealed that, for over 15 years, 16 major car manufacturers (including Mercedes, which was not fined) and ACEA entered into anticompetitive agreements and engaged in concerted practices related to the recycling of ELVs.
In particular, the Commission found that the parties colluded on two aspects:
- They agreed not to pay car dismantlers for processing ELVs. In particular, they agreed to consider the recycling of ELVs to be a sufficiently profitable business, and therefore not to remunerate car dismantlers for their services (so-called “Zero-Treatment-Cost” strategy). The companies also shared commercially sensitive information on their individual agreements with car dismantlers and coordinated their behavior towards dismantlers;
- They agreed not to promote how much of an ELV can be recycled, recovered and reused and how much recycled material is used in new cars. Their goal was to prevent consumers from considering recycling information when choosing a car, which could lower the pressure on companies to go beyond legal requirements.
Under Directive 2000/53/EC on ELVs, the last owner of an ELV must be able to dispose of it at no cost with a dismantler and if needed, car manufacturers are obliged to bear the costs. Moreover, consumers are required to be informed about the recycling performance of new cars.
The investigation found that ACEA was the facilitator of the cartel, having organized numerous meetings and contacts between car manufacturers involved in the cartel.
The Commission’s investigation revealed the existence of a single and continuous infringement in the European Economic Area (EEA), spanning over 15 years, from May 29, 2002 to September 4, 2017. The following names the companies involved in the infringement::
- BMW
- Ford
- Honda
- Hyundai/Kia
- Jaguar Land Rover
- Tata (as parent)
- Mazda
- Ford (as parent)
- Mercedes Benz
- Mitsubishi
- Opel
- General Motors (as parent)
- Renault/Nissan
- Stellantis
- Suzuki
- Toyota
- Volkswagen
- Volvo
- Ford (as parent)
- Greely (as parent)
- ACEA
The Commission coordinated its investigation with the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA also adopted a decision concerning the same practice for breaches of UK competition law.
Fines
The fines were set on the basis of the Commission’s 2006 Guidelines on fines. In setting the fines, the Commission took into account various elements, including the number of cars concerned by the infringement, the nature of the infringement, its geographic scope and its duration. When setting the fine, the Commission also took into account the lesser involvement in the infringement of Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Suzuki. It also granted a reduction to Renault since evidence showed that Renault had explicitly asked for an exemption from the agreement not to advertise the use of recycled material in new cars.
Four companies cooperated with the Commission under the leniency program:
- Mercedes-Benz received full immunity for revealing the cartel, avoiding a fine of around €35 million;
- Stellantis (including Opel), Mitsubishi and Ford benefited from a reduction of the fine for their cooperation with the Commission. The amount of reduction granted depends on the timing of their cooperation as well as to the evidence they provided to prove the existence of the cartel. All three received the maximum reduction that is foreseen under the Leniency Notice in case of multiple leniency applicants.
In addition, under the Commission’s 2008 Settlement Notice, the Commission applied a reduction of 10 percent to the fines on all parties, as they acknowledged their participation in the cartel and their liability.
The fine of ACEA, for its facilitating role, is set as a lump sum. The fine takes into account that all car producers, which are members of ACEA, have been fined individually.
Teresa Ribera, executive vice president for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition said, “We have taken firm action against companies that colluded to prevent competition on recycling. These car manufacturers coordinated for over 15 years to avoid paying for recycling services, by agreeing to not compete with each other on advertising the extent to which their cars could be recycled, and by agreeing to remain silent on the recycled materials used in their new cars. We will not tolerate cartels of any kind, and that includes those that suppress customer awareness and demand for more environmental-friendly products. High quality recycling in key sectors such as automotive will be central to meeting our circular economy objectives, not only to cut waste and emissions, but also to reduce dependencies, lower production costs and create a more sustainable and competitive industrial model in Europe.”
Published April 2025
