Mercedes-Benz Will Pay $68 Million In Fines

Mercedes-Benz just received a harsh sentence today; after an inquiry by Chinese investigators from Jiangsu last year, the German manufacturer was declared guilty of price fixing on some of their vehicles and spare parts.

Mercedes-Benz Chinese offices as well as a few dealerships pleaded guilty to fixing the price of some E-Classes and S-Classes, refusing to sell them under a set price. Furthermore, if a dealer sold one of these models for less, they were penalized.

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The German brand will have to pay a fine of 350 million yuan, which is about $68 million. Each dealership also received fines of up to 7.7 million yuan, or $1.5 million.

This large fine thus became the most expensive one ever given to an auto manufacturer in Chinese history.

Mercedes-Benz isn’t the first manufacturer to be punished by the Chinese government, Volkswagen and FCA also had to pay fines –albeit smaller–, and a dozen Japanese parts manufacturers were also accused of similar crimes.