Mercedes pays for price fixing

Mercedes must pay £7 million penalty for attempting to fix the price of its E-Class executive car.

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Mercedes must pay £7 million penalty for attempting to fix the price of its E-Class executive car.

The manufacturer had appealed to the European Court of First Instance against three Competition Commission fines given for a variety of alleged offences.

The court upheld a £7 million charge, which Mercedes was given for its efforts to keep discounts on the E-Class to no more than 3% off the list price. Under competition rules, manufacturers are not allowed to dictate to dealers how much cars are sold for.

However, it was absolved of two anti-competitive practices. The court waived a £32 million fine, which had been handed out by the commission for telling German dealers to demand 15% deposits from buyers from other countries.

It also overturned a £10 million penalty imposed on Mercedes for preventing dealers from establishing stocks of cars.

• Don't listen to any dealer that tells you he's not allowed to give you a discount. While high demand means dealers don't have to give a discount in every case, as on a Mercedes SL or SLK roadster for instance, most models are available for less than list price. Use What Car?'s Target Price to find out the most you should be paying for any new car.