The Swiss Competition Authority closes a price-fixing investigation against a car dealer with a settlement decision

By a settlement decision (https://www.news.admin.ch/message/index.html?lang=fr&msg-id=54100) made on 19 August 2014 the Swiss Competition Authority (Comco) has closed an investigation against a car dealer, AMAG, which entered into a horizontal anticompetitive agreement with other car distributors. In May 2013 the Comco opened an enquiry against several distributors of vehicles manufactured by the Volkswagen group, among which AMAG. In particular the Comco believed that the rebates and discounts agreed by the distributors for the sale of brand new vehicles infringed the Swiss Cartel Act. The decision to open the investigation was based on the evidence submit by AMAG, which disclosed the existence of the price-fixing agreements.
As said above, in August 2014 the Comco reached a settlement agreement with AMAG. Under this arrangement, AMAG committed to not apply rebates and other discounts agreed with its competitors and also to not exchange sensitive price information with them. Then Comco closed the investigation against AMAG, though it will continue the enquiry against the other distributors parties to the anticompetitive agreement.

Finally, as AMAG blew the whistle furnishing decisive evidence to open the investigation, the Comco applied to it the leniency regime adopted with the Ordinance of 12 March 2004 (Cartel Act Sanctions Ordinance, http://www.admin.ch/ch/e/rs/2/251.5.en.pdf) and AMAG was granted full immunity.

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