China probing German automakers over spare parts
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/carbuying/" rel="tag">Car Buying</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/china/" rel="tag">China</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/government-legal/" rel="tag">Government/Legal</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/audi/" rel="tag">Audi</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/bmw/" rel="tag">BMW</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/mercedes-benz/" rel="tag">Mercedes-Benz</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/luxury/" rel="tag">Luxury</a></p><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-18/china-said-to-be-probing-foreign-automakers-over-spare-parts.html"><img alt="General Views Of Shanghai's Economy" data-caption="Pedestrians walk past an Audi AG dealership in Shanghai, China, on Monday, July 1, 2013. Banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have pared their growth projections for China this year to 7.4 percent, below the government's 7.5 percent goal disclosed at the March conference at which Li Keqiang became premier. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg via Getty Images" data-credit="Bloomberg via Getty Images" data-mep="364075" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/crop/3000x1991+0+17/resize/628x417!/format/jpg/quality/85/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/midas/ec15deb2ca853f5dbb7a292a3 46639d3/200470550/172589814.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
The Chinese market has proven to be <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2014/07/06/honda-china-high-end-struggle-german-cars/">a boon to German luxury automakers</a>. However, the way that the companies have allegedly been controlling their supply of spare parts has begun to draw the ire of the nation's government. According to insiders speaking to <em>Bloomberg</em>, <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-18/china-said-to-be-probing-foreign-automakers-over-spare-parts.html">officials from the country's economic planning organization have opened a probe</a> into <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/audi/">Audi</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/bmw/">BMW</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/mercedes-benz/">Mercedes-Benz</a> and some Japanese carmakers over claimed price inflation and limiting supply.<br />
<br />
Specifically, the investigation centers around two aspects of how the companies do business, according to <em>Bloomberg</em>. Investigators want to know whether the original equipment component makers are able to sell spare parts only to automaker-authorized dealers or if they are also available to independent shops. There is also the issue of whether the price markup on replacement pieces is too high. The tight controls could be partially explained by <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2011/02/16/report-counterfeit-parts-overwhelm-china-include-fake-airbags/">China's reputation for producing counterfeit parts</a>.<br />
<br />
Evidently, the investigators haven't checked parts prices at car dealers elsewhere in the world. At least in the US, paying more at the dealer for factory components just goes along with owning a vehicle. If evidence of price fixing is found, the companies could face fines the equivalent of millions of dollars, according to <em>Bloomberg</em>.<p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2014/07/26/china-probing-german-automakers-over-spare-parts/">China probing German automakers over spare parts</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Sat, 26 Jul 2014 07:59:00 EST. Please see our <a href="/rss-term-of-use/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2014/07/26/china-probing-german-automakers-over-spare-parts/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/20935955/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2014/07/26/china-probing-german-automakers-over-spare-parts/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

أكثر...