Compliance Radar
Who was sanctioned, and for what?
Fines, court rulings and incidents from Europe and North America: 718 cases from 32 jurisdictions, each with an official source and checked against that source before publication. Filter by country, area of law and sector. Click a chart to drill down one level.
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Where?
by regionAll jurisdictions
What for?
by topicWho?
by company- BMW, Ford, Honda, Hyundai/Kia, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Opel/GM, Renault/Nissan, Stellantis, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo, ACEA (Mercedes-Benz Kronzeuge) €457.9m 84 % · 1 case
- Exide, FET (inkl. Elettra), Rombat, EUROBAT (Clarios Kronzeuge) €72m 13 % · 1 case
- Maxxis International GmbH, Best4Tires Berlin GmbH, Reifen Müller GmbH & Co. KG €11.9m 2 % · 1 case
- Volvo Hungária Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Kft.; Seres Gépipari Kereskedelmi Kft.; GIF Modul Kft.; Interteher Kft.; Eurotrade Kft.; He Hans Eibinger Kft. (MUT Kft. ohne Buße nach Entschädigung) €4.06m 1 % · 1 case
- GA ADRIATIC, trženje in prodaja avtomobilov, d.o.o. (vormals Renault Nissan Slovenija) €650,000 0 % · 1 case
- UAB „Manado“, MB „Parts ready“ €41,080 0 % · 1 case
- Valvoline Inc. und Greenbriar Equity Fund V, L.P. — 0 % · 1 case
When?
per quarter, by date of decision| Period | Cases | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2023 | 0 | — |
| Q4 2023 | 0 | — |
| Q1 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q2 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q3 2024 | 1 | €650,000 |
| Q4 2024 | 0 | — |
| Q1 2025 | 0 | — |
| Q2 2025 | 1 | €457.9m |
| Q3 2025 | 0 | — |
| Q4 2025 | 3 | €76.1m |
| Q1 2026 | 1 | €41,080 |
| Q2 2026 | 0 | — |
| Q3 2026 | 1 | €11.9m |
7 cases
1 Apr 2025 BMW, Ford, Honda, Hyundai/Kia, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Opel/GM, Renault/Nissan, Stellantis, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo, ACEA (Mercedes-Benz Kronzeuge)EU: 458 million EUR against carmakers and ACEA over end-of-life vehicle recycling cartel €457.9m
The Commission imposed fines of around 458 million EUR on 15 carmakers and the association ACEA. From 2002 to 2017, they had agreed not to pay dismantlers for recycling end-of-life vehicles and not to advertise recycling rates or recycled content; ACEA organised the meetings. Mercedes-Benz received full immunity as leniency applicant, and all parties reached a settlement (10 % reduction).
Agreements on purchasing terms or on refraining from advertising claims are also cartels – association meetings require antitrust supervision.
Agreements in association bodies; refraining from purchasing or advertising can also be a cartel
- Authority / court
- Europäische Kommission
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- Art. 101 AEUV, Art. 53 EWR-Abkommen
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Automotive
- Employees
- 10,000 or more
- Mitigating circumstances
- Leniency programme (Mercedes-Benz 100 %, Stellantis/Opel 50 %, Mitsubishi 30 %, Ford 20 %), 10 % settlement reduction, lesser involvement of Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki
- Commission fines car manufacturers and association €458 million over end-of-life vehicles recycling cartel (IP/25/881) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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21 Jul 2026 Maxxis International GmbH, Best4Tires Berlin GmbH, Reifen Müller GmbH & Co. KGBundeskartellamt: 11.9 million EUR over resale price maintenance in tyre distribution (Maxxis/CST) €11.9m
Maxxis guaranteed wholesalers fixed margins per tyre sold of the Maxxis and CST brands, monitored prices in particular on the Tyre24 platform and intervened when prices were too low. Germany's Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) imposed fines totalling 11.9 million EUR on three companies and one responsible individual.
Margin guarantees and price controls vis-à-vis dealers constitute prohibited resale price maintenance – sales teams need clear rules for price discussions.
Influencing resale prices and price monitoring on platforms
- Authority / court
- Bundeskartellamt
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- § 1 GWB (vertikale Preisbindung)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Automotive
- Mitigating circumstances
- Settlement with Maxxis and Reifen Müller
- Liability of senior managers
- Fine imposed on one responsible natural person (not named)
- Published
- 21 Jul 2026
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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12 Feb 2026 UAB „Manado“, MB „Parts ready“Manado and Parts ready: cartel in Vilnius public transport spare parts tender €41,080
In two tenders by ‘Vilniaus viešasis transportas’ for vehicle spare parts (May–October 2025), the dealers coordinated bids and prices, wrote the bids for each other and sent them from the same computer. The contracting entity reported the suspicion. Following acknowledgement (minus 15%), fines of 17,950 EUR (Manado) and 23,130 EUR (Parts ready). Source: archived copy of the press release.
Even jointly prepared bids by small dealers are a cartel – and contracting entities increasingly recognise such patterns.
Competition law in tenders
- Authority / court
- Konkurencijos taryba (Litauischer Wettbewerbsrat)
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- Konkurencijos įstatymas (verbotene Vereinbarungen)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Automotive
- Mitigating circumstances
- Acknowledgement of the infringement (15% reduction)
- Published
- 12 Feb 2026
- Konkurencijos taryba, Pranešimas 2026-02-12 (Archivkopie web.archive.org von kt.gov.lt) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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15 Dec 2025 Exide, FET (inkl. Elettra), Rombat, EUROBAT (Clarios Kronzeuge)EU: 72 million EUR against starter battery manufacturers and the association EUROBAT €72m
From 2005 to 2017, the manufacturers of automotive starter batteries agreed, with the help of the association EUROBAT, to publish jointly calculated lead surcharges (EUROBAT premiums) and to use them in price negotiations with carmakers. Fines: Exide 30 million EUR, Rombat 20.218 million EUR, Elettra 15.594 million EUR, FET 6.11 million EUR, EUROBAT 125,000 EUR; Clarios escaped a fine as leniency applicant.
Suppliers may pass on raw material surcharges individually, but must never fix them in an industry-wide coordinated manner via association indices.
Joint raw material surcharges among competitors via association indices
- Authority / court
- Europäische Kommission
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- Art. 101 AEUV, Art. 53 EWR-Abkommen
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Automotive
- Mitigating circumstances
- Leniency programme (Clarios 100 %, FET 50 %, Rombat 30 %); reduction for inability to pay for one company; payment in instalments
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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5 Dec 2025 Volvo Hungária Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Kft.; Seres Gépipari Kereskedelmi Kft.; GIF Modul Kft.; Interteher Kft.; Eurotrade Kft.; He Hans Eibinger Kft. (MUT Kft. ohne Buße nach Entschädigung)Refuse vehicle cartel: over 1.5 billion HUF, of which 270 million for obstructing the inspection €4.06m
In 2014–2015, chassis and body manufacturers allocated contracts and submitted cover bids in tenders for refuse collection and sewer cleaning vehicles. The Gazdasági Versenyhivatal (Hungarian Competition Authority, GVH) imposed cartel fines of 1,278.4 million HUF (of which 972.9 million on Volvo Hungária) and, in addition, a record procedural fine of 270 million HUF on Volvo Hungária for obstructing access to data secured during the inspection.
Regular meetings on ‘capacity planning’ with competitors are cartel evidence – and obstructing an inspection costs extra.
Bid rigging and conduct during inspections
- Authority / court
- Gazdasági Versenyhivatal (GVH)
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- Ungarisches Wettbewerbsgesetz, Art. 101 AEUV (Submissionsabsprachen, Verfahrensbuße; VJ/30/2018)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Automotive
- Culpability
- intentional
- Mitigating circumstances
- Admissions and leniency applications by most participants; MUT paid 116 million HUF in compensation to contracting authorities.
- Published
- 5 Dec 2025
Original amount 1,548,400,000 HUF, converted at the ECB reference rate of 5 Dec 2025.
- Kukásautó-kartellt tárt fel a GVH Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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14 Nov 2025 Valvoline Inc. und Greenbriar Equity Fund V, L.P.Valvoline/Greenbriar: FTC requires sale of 45 quick oil change shops Order
Valvoline wanted to acquire around 200 Oil Changers shops from Greenbriar for 625 million USD. Because the two competed directly in 25 local markets, under the proposed consent order the acquisition may only be completed if 45 shops are sold to Main Street Auto.
For branch networks too, the competition authority examines each local market individually – map overlaps before the deal.
- Authority / court
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
- Area of law
- Competition law · Merger control
- Legal basis
- Section 7 Clayton Act; Section 5 FTC Act (Consent Order)
- Action
- Order
- Status of proceedings
- unknown
- Sector
- Automotive
- FTC Requires Divestiture of Oil Change Shops in Valvoline-Greenbriar Deal (14.11.2025) Press release of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link
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24 Sep 2024 GA ADRIATIC, trženje in prodaja avtomobilov, d.o.o. (vormals Renault Nissan Slovenija)GA Adriatic (Renault): 650,000 EUR settlement for collusion on workshop contracts €650,000
In 2021, the Javna agencija Republike Slovenije za varstvo konkurence (Slovenian Competition Protection Agency, AVK) had found that the Renault importer and four car dealerships had infringed the cartel prohibition in the repair and maintenance of Renault vehicles for public contracting authorities. In a settlement procedure under the new competition act, GA Adriatic withdrew its action and received an administrative sanction of 650,000 EUR, payable in three instalments.
Authorised dealer networks must not coordinate on public contracts – even where contracting authorities require brand workshops.
Collusion between manufacturer and dealer network in tenders
- Authority / court
- Javna agencija Republike Slovenije za varstvo konkurence (AVK)
- Area of law
- Competition law · Cartels and collusion
- Legal basis
- Art. 6 ZPOmK-1 bzw. Art. 5 ZPOmK-2, Art. 101 AEUV; Vergleich nach Art. 95 ZPOmK-2 (3062-5/2024)
- Action
- Fine
- Status of proceedings
- final
- Sector
- Automotive
- Mitigating circumstances
- Settlement with a reduction of up to 20%; termination after the inspection, cooperation.
- Published
- 30 Sep 2024
- Odločba 3062-5/2024-24 z dne 24. 9. 2024 (GA ADRIATIC) Decision of an authority
- Agencija v postopku poravnav izrekla administrativne sankcije v skupnem znesku več kot 1 milijon evrov Press release of an authority
- AVK – Odločitve agencije Enforcement database of an authority
Checked against the official source on 25 Sep 2026 · Direct link