FAW-VW and Chrysler fined for monopoly violation

FAW-Volkswagen Sales Co was fined 248.58 million yuan ($40.51 million) by Hubei Bureau of Price Supervision.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Two multinational automakers were punished by local authorities for monopoly violations, sources revealed on Thursday.

FAW-Volkswagen Sales Co was fined 248.58 million yuan ($40.51 million) by Hubei Bureau of Price Supervision. The punishment is equivalent to six percent of the company's sales in 2013.

Seven dealers of its luxury brand, Audi, were fined 29.96 million yuan, equivalent to one to two percent of their sales in 2013.

Meanwhile, Chrysler Group China Sales Ltd was fined 31.68 million yuan by the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission, which is equivalent to three percent of its sales of the previous year. Three dealers of Chrysler were fined 2.14 million yuan.

The National Development and Reform Commission has to date reviewed 335 anti-monopoly cases against companies and industrial associations, among which 33, of 10 percent, involved foreign invested companies. The remainder were related to domestic companies and associations, government officials said at a State Council Information Office press conference on Thursday.