Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co’s Chinese ventures joined Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen AG’s Audi in reducing prices of spare parts amid an antitrust investigation into the auto industry.
GAC Toyota Motor Co, the Japanese automaker’s venture with China’s GAC Group, is to cut prices on some components from Monday next week, according to a statement yesterday on its Web site.
Guangqi Honda Automobile Co, Honda’s venture with GAC, is to lower prices of some auto parts from Sept. 1, according to a separate statement.
China, the world’s largest auto market, is stepping up scrutiny over how much foreign automakers charge for vehicles and spare parts.
The government began looking into possible antitrust violations in the auto industry at the end of 2011 when Chinese media outlets accused manufacturers of inflating prices and overcharging consumers.
20 PERCENT CUT
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is to reduce prices on more than 2,000 components by an average of 20 percent starting Aug. 11, the Munich, Germany-based automaker said in an e-mailed statement on Thursday.
Daimler plans to cut spare-part prices for its Mercedes Benz vehicles in China by an average of 15 percent starting next month.
Audi’s Chinese joint venture said late last month that the brand would lower replacement costs of its parts by as much as 38 percent on Aug. 1.
Antitrust officials in Jiangsu Province have begun investigations of Mercedes Benz dealers in five cities, including Suzhou and Wuxi, while Mercedes Benz’s Shanghai office was raided by local officials of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, a spokesman for the commission, Li Pumin, said in a briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.
CHRYSLER
The government is also soon to punish Chrysler Group LLC and Audi for engaging in monopolistic actions, he said.
The commission is undertaking the investigation to protect the competitive order of the auto industry and safeguard consumer interests, Li said at the briefing.
It has completed an investigation into 12 Japanese companies and is soon to announce the actions it is to take, he said.
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