The Price Supervision and Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will encourage automotive operators to proactively conduct compliance inspections and self-training programs to improve legal consciousness. .

According to Zhang Handong, Director-General of the Price Supervision and Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the NDRC, the Bureau will take the following five measures to crack down on monopolistic practices in the automotive industry in the future:

I.

Prohibit price-fixing between dealers: The government is now investigating price-fixing practices between dealerships in the same cities.

II.

Crack down on vertical monopoly: Investigation focus will be set on competition in the automotive aftermarket, pricing of spare parts, man-hour of repair and maintenance service, as well as resale pricing.

III.

Punish the abuse of market dominance: Strengthened efforts will be made to investigate the abuse of dominating positions in the fields of spare parts supply, distribution, and pricing.

IV.

Enter into partnerships: In response to challenges from global competition and trans-national monopoly, the Price Supervision and Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the NDRC has signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with anti-monopoly law enforcement organs of countries and regions like the UK, the US, South Korea and the EU to establish a long-term effective cooperation mechanism to jointly eliminate monopolistic practices.

V.

Further improve relevant policies, regulations and mechanisms: Following the drafting of the Anti-Monopoly Guidelines for the Auto Industry, the Price Supervision and Anti-Monopoly Bureau will accelerate the formulation of supporting regulations for the Anti-Monopoly Law. Researches concerning vertical price fixing, information-exchange between competitors, and upstream-downstream supply will be conducted to help eliminate vertical price fixing and provide more compliance guidance for companies.

Through these five measures, anti-monopoly law enforcement is expected to become more targeted, normalized, and standardized than before.

Chinese Article Source: The Paper