Consumers and Users Organization (OCU) has reported this Tuesday that it has filed its fifth class action against the car cartel active between 2006 and 2013. The suit directly targets Peugeot, Citroën, Opel, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and the parent company of all of them. According to experts hired by OCU, those affected could recover about 10.61% of their payments plus interest, which translates into an overall indemnity ranging from roughly 14% to 17.5% depending on the purchase date (OCU estimates cited in market overview reports).
The car cartel offers consumer organizations and law firms a fertile ground for successful claims. Following the recent filing of what is described as the largest class action ever recorded in Spain, involving about 13,000 people, a judicial landscape has opened that could extend the cartel’s impact on law firms, consumer bodies like Facua or OCU, and specialized support structures designed to litigate with confidence (consumer protection press notes).
In total, the cartel case is projected to involve a sum around 300 million euros across various Spanish courts. This financial scale helps explain the strong interest from lawyers and litigation platforms seeking to channel complaints into the new procedural arena. On July 23, 2015, the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) fined 171 million euros to 21 automotive companies and two consulting firms for anti-competitive practices. The Supreme Court confirmed the decision in 2021. The CNMC’s investigation concluded that the brands exchanged confidential information, coordinated dealer discount margins, and avoided aggressive price competition. The number of claims filed so far remains small when compared with the estimated 7.9 million affected buyers. Some lawsuits have been filed individually, but the total figure remains uncertain, largely because many cases are pursued through verbal proceedings for indemnities under 3,000 euros, which are not eligible for appeal and do not reach public discussion (market regulation summaries).
OCU emphasizes that in this class action, claimants are not required to put up a fund or cover costs in case a potential condemnation against the brands is rejected. The fifth lawsuit has been filed with the Commercial Courts of Pontevedra. In practical terms, this proceeding rests on the legitimate representation of the association to pursue diffuse interests, defending the broader group of people affected by the illegal cartel (consumer rights briefings).
What this means in concrete terms is that buyers who purchased vehicles from the listed brands during the specified periods are eligible to benefit from the action, as those time frames correspond to the periods during which the manufacturers participated in the illegal collusion (timeline summaries).
– Peugeot, Citroën and Opel: February 2006 to July 2013
– Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia: February 2006 to August 2013
– Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge: April 2008 to August 2013
Two of the claims filed in October 2023 have already been admitted to process. OCU expects that the new filing will receive a similar level of judicial attention and, hopefully, deliver justice for the affected customers. Additionally, OCU announces plans to promptly present the rest of the collective actions against the remaining brands, aiming to complete the roster of all manufacturers sanctioned by the CNMC for restrictive practices. The OCU claims and the accompanying expert reports were prepared by a team of economists, lawyers, statisticians, engineers, and editors working with independent laboratories, a collaboration that has tracked the major consumer goods and services since 1975 (OCU hearings and press notes).