The settlement was agreed between Peugeot Austria and the BWB, but is not yet legally binding, as the BWB explained in response to an APA inquiry. Settlements are not a compromise: the companies acknowledge the facts established by the BWB and accept the amount of the fine deemed appropriate by the BWB.
The case was set in motion by the Upper Austrian Peugeot dealer Büchl, who had turned to the cartel court at the end of 2018 because he did not agree with Peugeot Austria’s requirements. In 2021, the Supreme Court (OGH), as the highest cartel court, deemed six of the twelve points objected to in the dealer relationship with Büchl to be inadmissible. According to the legally binding decision, Peugeot Austria is no longer allowed to link bonus payments to the dealer to customer satisfaction surveys, among other things. Furthermore, the Peugeot general importer is no longer allowed to reduce the dealers’ trading margin if they do not achieve deliberately inflated sales targets.
“Cooperation put on a new footing”
The Supreme Court’s order to cease the proceedings had already been “fully implemented” in 2021, Peugeot Austria said in a press release on Thursday. PAG sees the settlement “as an essential contribution to putting an end to this case. The form of cooperation with all our trading partners has been put on a new footing.” The cooperation with 52 dealers in Austria is “characterized by a completely new, cooperative nature.”
Peugeot is part of the Stellantis car group, which emerged from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and the French PSA Group in January 2021. Stellantis also includes brands such as Opel, Citroën, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Chrysler.
