China's antitrust action reflecting its resolve to prevent market leaders from jeopardizing consumer interests through price manipulation.
A total of 12 Japanese auto parts suppliers have been fined 1.24 billion yuan ($201 million) due to a price monopoly, China's top price regulator confirmed Wednesday.
Antitrust probes into foreign companies in China will not scare away foreign investors despite the inflow of overseas spending in July hitting a two-year low.
Official said Mercedes-Benz case is a typical vertical price fixing. It manipulated the prices of spare parts and maintenance on the after-sales market.
Although the Chinese government launched antitrust investigations of only Audi, Chrysler and 12 Japanese spare parts companies, the move has caused tremors among foreign car brands.
Four BMW dealers in Wuhan, Hubei province were the first to be fined by China's anti-monopoly campaign targeting luxury automakers, eeo.com.cn reported on Wednesday.
A Chinese antitrust adviser is removed from his position for taking large payments from Qualcomm for his consulting services.
Shanghai General Motors said they have been contacted by Chinese anti-monopoly regulators as part of an investigation of the auto industry.
Western media commentators seem ready to accuse China of foul play whenever foreign enterprises are concerned.
Tianjin is investigating whether local real estate agencies have been involved in collusive pricing, amid a wave of antitrust probes against leading foreign technology and vehicle companies.
China's recent wave of antitrust probes does not specifically target foreign multinational enterprises operating.
China's ongoing anti-monopoly investigations into foreign auto makers are aimed at building a fair market.
BMW will cut prices on more than 2,000 components by an average of 20 percent starting next Monday, the Germany-based automaker said.
Top executives from FAW-Volkswagen Audi and its dealers from Hubei province were interviewed by China's antitrust regulators on Thursday, 21st Century Business Herald reported.
Japanese automakers continue to enjoy robust volume growth in China, regaining some of the market share lost following a diplomatic dispute over the Diaoyu islands in September 2012.
China on Wednesday announced that it will punish two auto giants for monopolistic practices, indicating a step up in enforcement of the country's six-year-old Anti-Monopoly Law.
Two separate anti-trust probes into Chrysler and Audi have found that the two multinational carmakers have pursued monopolistic practices and will be punished.
China's antitrust agency on Wednesday confirmed that 12 Japanese auto parts and bearings manufacturers have been investigated.
Investigations into Chrysler and Audi have found that both automakers have been pursuing monopoly tactics, and they will receive punishment soon.
The German carmaker confirmed that it has been investigated by anti-monopoly officials in China and said it would cooperate with the government.
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263 Registration Number: 130349 
