Truck cartel braced for billions in claims

TRUCK makers who operated a pricefixing cartel face a multibillion compensation claim from hauliers who say they overpaid for vehicles because of the cabal’s collusion.

Britain’s Road Haulage Association has lodged a claim at the Competition Appeal Tribunal, seeking more than £6,000 in compensation on each truck purchased between 1997 and 2011, when the cartel operated.

The association estimates its claim could total almost £5bn against truck makers DAF, Daimler, Iveco, Volvo, Renault, Scania and MAN.

The manufacturers have been fined a total of €3.8bn (£3.4bn) by the European Commission for running a cartel, though MAN was not included because it blew the whistle to regulators, but is still caught up in the claim.

Richard Burnett, chief executive of the RHA, said: “The collusion as a cartel is proven, but we are trying to prove financial damage to the hardpressed haulage industry who paid over the odds for their vehicles.”

If similar claims are made in other affected European countries, hauliers who bought 3.4m trucks during the period the cartel operated could seek almost £35bn in compensation.

The RHA has also raised concerns hauliers were wrongly encouraged to buy Euro 5 pollutioncompliant trucks, having been told Euro 6 vehicles would be expensive and use more fuel.