LONDON (Reuters) – Stellantis’ 771 million euro ($807.62 million) lawsuit against two safety equipment makers was dismissed by a London tribunal on Friday. The automaker, which was formed by the 2021 merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group, sued Autoliv and ZF/TRW for allegedly charging higher prices for seatbelts, airbags and steering wheels.
Sweden’s Autoliv and TRW – which was bought by German rival ZF Friedrichshafen in 2014 – were found by the European Commission to have participated in cartels, relating to products sold to Japanese and European car manufacturers.
The two companies were fined 368.3 million euros in 2019 over cartels involving products supplied to some European car producers, while a Japanese unit of Autoliv was among companies fined for cartels involving supplies to Japanese automakers.
Autoliv and ZF/TRW argued the European Commission investigated for several years – with the companies’ cooperation – and did not find Stellantis was targeted by the cartel.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal rejected Stellantis’ case on Friday, saying in a written ruling that “Stellantis has failed to show that any cartel activity directed against the Stellantis groups resulted in an overcharge at all or of the size claimed”.
($1 = 0.9547 euros)
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Catarina Demony)
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