The European Commission (EC) has fined Scania more than €880 million (£770m) for its participation in a truck cartel. Scania was the sixth and final manufacturer implicated in the price-fixing scandal, but decided against settling with the EC last year. The five other truck manufacturers – MAN, Volvo/Renault, Daimler (Mercedes-Benz), Iveco and DAF – were collectively fined €2.93bn (£2.57bn) after admitting wrongdoing.
The European Commission has issued notice that it will initiate an anti-dumping proceeding focusing on imports of truck and bus tyres originating in the People’s Republic of China. The Commission is taking this course of action as a result of a complaint received on 30 June by the “coalition against unfair tyres imports,” a group representing the interests of manufacturers who account for more than 45 per cent of all new and retreaded truck and bus tyre production in the European Union.
“The NFDA has written to HM Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to highlight the serious impact that the debit card charges introduced by the Interchange Fee Regulation are having on our members”, said Sue Robinson, Director of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) which represents franchised car and commercial vehicle retailers in the UK.
The European Commission has chosen to maintain the 22.3 per cent anti-dumping duty applied to aluminium wheels imported from the Peoples’ Republic of China, a decision that has been criticised by Chinese authorities.
The European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) has published its position on the Low Emission Mobility Strategy made public by the European Commission last July. The ETRMA position document can be read here.
Imports of truck tyres into Europe have significantly increased over the past five years and have devoured market share formerly held by local players, particularly European retreaders. Detailed analyses on this phenomenon can be found here and here.
The UK may have voted to leave Europe, but for the time being we are still subject to European regulations. The EU says that tougher CO2 standards for cars and vans will be introduced to help cut transport emissions and improve air quality in Europe. They form part of a package of measures announced by the European Commission, which for the first time will also include fuel efficiency targets for trucks.
According to Bipaver, the number of truck tyres retreaded in Europe has fallen by a third in the last five years, and it fears this trend will continue unless the European Commission moves quickly to implement legislation that protects against the dumping of low-priced new tyres.
Approval has been given for Sweden’s Trelleborg AB to acquire ČGS Holding a.s., parent company of Czech tyre maker Mitas. In a statement issued this week, the European Commission shared that its assessment of the deal focused on the extent to which the two companies’ original equipment and aftermarket activities overlapped. The Commission found that Trelleborg and Mitas agricultural tyres “focus on different price and quality tiers” and are therefore “not close competitors.”
On 26 January, the European Commission announced the launch of GEAR 2030, a High Level Group that aims to address the challenges facing Europe’s automotive industry. The European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) states that it “welcomes” the Commission’s decision to set up GEAR 2030, adding that it “looks forward to contributing constructively to identifying those policy and legislative interventions that are needed to indeed boost the competitiveness and growth of the automotive industry.”
The European Commission has approved regional investment of almost €117million for the passenger car tyre factory Nexen Tire intends to build in the Czech Republic. The Commission found the aid that government trade agency CzechInvest offered Nexen for the facility in Žatec is compatible with EU state aid rules, and deemed it will promote regional development without unduly distorting competition in the internal market.
An article has recently appeared in the British Medical Journal warning of the dangers to public health in the UK caused by air pollutants. In 2011 a report from the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee suggested that the costs to society from poor air quality were on a par with those from smoking and obesity. Air pollution has fallen sharply over the last 25 years, in particular nitrogen oxide levels have dropped by two thirds and particulates have halved. However, whilst the pollution levels have fallen, the medical profession is now better able to quantify the damage caused.
Motor Wheel Service Distribution (MWSD) has welcomed the Department for Transport’s report into wheel safety and the government’s classification of CV wheels as ‘safety critical’. However the company remains sceptical of the report’s findings and industry awareness of the issue. MWSD has long campaigned for legislation requiring operators to carry out more stringent checks on commercial vehicle wheels to be introduced.
Findings from the European Commission’s review into the process of access to vehicle repair and maintenance information have been welcomed as ‘another major step forward’ by the Independent Garage Association (IGA).
At the end of 2013, the Commission appointed Ricardo-AEA, a UK based agency, to carry out a study on access to vehicle repair and maintenance information for independent operators, and the results have confirmed the IGA’s stance that although the situation has improved in recent years, we are still some distance from a “level playing field”.
Apollo Tyres hasn’t officially announced where its planned European factory will be built, but it looks as if the honour has gone to Hungary. Today the European Commission confirmed that a proposal to give Apollo Tyres (Hungary) Kft. €95.7 million (approximately HUF 29 billion) in regional investment aid for the construction of a tyre plant in Gyöngyöshalász is in line with European Union state aid rules. The Commission found that the aid granted by Hungary favours regional development, while any distortions of competition will remain limited.
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