Unannounced inspections were conducted at the premises of BMW Romania, Porsche Romania, Mercedes-Benz Romania, Hyundai Auto Romania, Renault Commercial Roumanie / Automobile-Dacia, and Euro Inter Trade Corporation.
These companies distribute brands which collectively account for approximately 70% of Romania's car fleet.
The investigations focus on the market for vehicle maintenance and repair services and/or the distribution of spare parts. The competition authority suspects potential agreements between these importers and their authorized dealer and repair networks. These agreements may restrict access for independent repair shops and distributors of equivalent quality spare parts, limiting customer choice.
A key concern for the Council is contractual provisions that might compel vehicle owners to perform non-warranty maintenance and repairs, and/or use only original spare parts, exclusively within the importers' authorized networks, under the threat of voiding their vehicle's warranty.
Bogdan Chirițoiu, President of the Competition Council, stated: "The warranty of a vehicle should not be conditioned on performing out-of-warranty work—paid for by the owner—only within authorized networks or using exclusively certain spare parts. Such a practice is harmful to competition and disadvantages customers".
If violations of competition rules are confirmed, the companies could face fines of up to 10% of their turnover.
