Scania slapped with £770 million fine over price-fixing cartel

European regulators have hit Scania with an 880 million euro (£770 million) fine after the truck giant became embroiled in a price-fixing cartel.

The European Competition Commission said the firm had broken anti-trust rules over a 14-year period by colluding with five other truck manufacturers on price.

The watchdog said Scania was part of a cartel with MAN, Daimler, Iveco and Volvo/Renault, which worked together to fix truck prices and decide when to pass on the cost of new emission technologies.

Five truck firms, excluding Scania, settled with the commission in July last year.

Margrethe Vestager, the EU's commissioner for competition, said the decision marked the end of its investigation into the "long-lasting cartel".

She said: "This cartel affected very substantial numbers of road hauliers in Europe, since Scania and the other truck manufacturers in the cartel produce more than nine out of every 10 medium and heavy trucks sold in Europe.

"These trucks account for around three quarters of inland transport of goods in Europe and play a vital role in the European economy.

"Instead of colluding on pricing, the truck manufacturers should have been competing against each other - also on environmental improvements."

The watchdog said its investigation centred on the manufacturing of medium trucks, weighing between six to 16 tonnes, and heavy trucks, weighing more than 16 tonnes.

The Swedish-based firm, which employs 46,000 people in 100 countries, was found to have taken part in a cartel which coordinated on the factory price of trucks, the timing of when emission technologies should be launched and when the costs of the technologies should be passed onto buyers.