India Fines 14 Automakers in Spare Parts Probe

India's Competition Commission has fined 14 automakers a total of $420 million for restricting competition in the spare parts market and driving up prices. The action followed a similar move by Chinese regulators, according to a report by Dunyanews.tv.

The Competition Commission of India found domestic automakers and local units of global vehicle manufacturers guilty of "anti-competitive conduct" by curbing the number of spare parts and ordered them to "immediately cease-and-desist," according to the report.

The commission said in a 215-page report the automakers actions had made parts unnecessarily costly for around 20 million Indian consumers. Mark-ups on some parts were as high as 4,800 percent, the Dunyanews report noted.

Among the global companies fined were Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford and General Motors. Local companies fined included Maruti Suzuki, Hindustan Motors and Tata Motors, whose domestic operations are struggling, according to the report. Tata Motors, which was slapped with the biggest fine of 13.46 billion rupees ($223 million), said it would appeal.