In the antitrust scandal car companies have to face a new threat. The Financial Supervisory Authority BaFin checks whether VW and Daimler have informed their investors too late about possible antitrust violations.
VW CEO Matthias Müller (r.) Looks to Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche
Monday, 07.08.2017
15:05 clock
Suspicious agreements now make German car companies targets for financial supervision BaFin. Volkswagen (VW) and Daimler had informed antitrust authorities in a form of self-disclosure in each case that it could have come to working agreements between several automakers to antitrust relevant arrangements. BaFin is now checking whether the two automakers have informed the investors too late.
“We are investigating whether VW and / or Daimler have complied with the ad hoc obligation in connection with the alleged self-reports,” the agency said. BMW is therefore not in the sights of the authority. Listed companies must inform their shareholders with what are known as ad-hoc disclosures about events that could materially affect the share price. The shares of the manufacturers had yielded noticeably after the announcement of the suspected cartel on the stock market.
When to expect a result of the test, the spokeswoman could not say. According to the spokeswoman, BaFin frequently checks such cases. The European Commission is currently investigating information that VW, BMW, Daimler, Audi and Porsche should have agreed on, among other things, technical questions and, in part, purchasing. The antitrust officers now have to decide if these arrangements were illegal.
For several years, the car companies have led several working groups in which they have agreed in detail about technology, costs, suppliers – including the emission control of their diesel vehicles. Bosch was also involved in discussions as supplier of the software for engine control systems,