72 million fine for combustion engine car batteries cartel

Brussels – €72 million fine for car starter batteries cartel. The European Commission has fined three manufacturers for keeping the price of specific batteries for starting combustion engines artificially high for more than 12 years.

The companies involved are American Exide, Italian FIAMM Energy Technology (FET), and Romanian Rombat. All three companies specialise in the production of starter batteries. Also involved in the investigation was American Clarios, which, however, denounced the cartel and will therefore not be sanctioned. The anti-competitive agreement was facilitated by the European Association of Rechargeable Battery Manufacturers (EUROBAT).

The Lead Price Agreement 

The illegal mechanism consisted of secretly agreeing on a specific surcharge linked to the valuation of lead, the key material for the production of these batteries. The trade association EUROBAT facilitated the cartel by encouraging the coordinated use of lead prices published by the trade journal Metal Bulletin to apply artificial surcharges. The Commission summarised the affair as follows: “These battery manufacturers, with the help of their trade association, colluded to add a surcharge based on the cost of lead and keep it high, instead of letting prices be determined by normal competition.” 

The cartel thus penalised end manufacturers: for example, Exide supplied and continues to supply batteries to Volkswagen, BMW, and Ford, while FET has a long-standing relationship with Fiat and Iveco, as well as agreements with Renault and Peugeot. The surcharge was then transferred to end consumers, who were forced to pay more due to higher production costs. Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera pointed out: “It is our duty to ensure that our citizens and businesses, including European carmakers, can count on suppliers who act fairly and respect competition rules.”

The price to pay 

The fines will not be paid equally by the three companies. Clarios, having cooperated and revealed the cartel to the European authority, was granted full immunity. Italy’s FET and Romania’s Rombat provided relevant information and will pay reduced fines of over €20 million each. The heaviest fine will have to be paid by Exide, amounting to around €30 million. The industry association EUROBAT has been requested to pay €125,000.