Ten years after the European decision in 2016, the Amsterdam Court upheld the principle of compensation for damage caused by the truck cartel, setting an additional 7% fee and paving the way for buyers to receive potentially substantial compensation. The producers were ordered to pay fines totaling almost 3 billion euros. About 20 companies from Luxembourg were among the victims.
On April 15, Amsterdam's Rechtbank issued a historic ruling in the case of the European heavy-duty vehicle cartel, recognizing the damage suffered by buyers and setting an average price premium of 7%. In this case, several manufacturers — MAN, Daimler, Iveco, Volvo/Renault, and DAF — filed claims for damages from the Retail Cartel (CDC), a Luxembourg-based organization specializing in pooling claims from companies that have purchased or leased trucks.
The dispute arose due to a decision taken by the European Commission on July 19, 2016, which imposed fines for a cartel covering the entire European Economic Area between January 17, 1997 and January 18, 2011, that is, for almost 14 years. This cartel involved trucks weighing more than 6 tons, including medium and heavy—duty vehicles, and included agreeing on gross prices, as well as timing and cost allocation related to Euro III-VI emission standards.
Responsibility of builders
The European Commission imposed fines totaling almost 2.93 billion euros, which were distributed among Daimler (1.008 billion euros), DAF (752.7 million euros), Volvo/Renault (670.4 million euros) and Iveco (494.6 million euros), while MAN was granted full immunity as an applicant.
In its decision, the Dutch court relies on these findings to establish the manufacturers' civil liability. The Court rejects the arguments regarding the statute of limitations and agrees with an average cost excess of 7%, while recognizing that the consequences of the cartel continued until May 30, 2013.
The Arthur Welter Group is among the 20 known victims in Luxembourg.
In Luxembourg, some companies have already decided to join these lawsuits. This is especially true of the Arthur Welter Group, one of the first national players to join the CDC initiative in Dutch courts. Its chief financial officer, Claude Quaring, explained to our colleagues at Le Wort at the time that the company did not know anything about the cartel during the period under review, noting the atypical price dynamics: "With each change in emissions standards, the price of trucks increased by 10,000 euros — by another 10,000 euros during the period. between 2015 and 2016. Euro IV and Euro V, and another 10,000 euros between Euro V and Euro VI is a strange coincidence."
