Wakefield Council taking legal action against Iveco, MAN, Daimler, DAF and Volvo after EU ruling

Iveco, MAN, Daimler, DAF and Volvo, along with Volvo's subsidiary Renault Trucks, were told to pay a collective £2.5bn by the European Union in 2016 after they all admitted to colluding on prices and passing on the costs of green technology in their vehicles.

It was the biggest fine the EU had ever handed out to a cartel.

The council bought more than 225 vehicles from the companies involved between 1997 and 2011, the period over which the illegal activity took place.

The vehicles, for which it's claimed the local authority were overcharged, became bin lorries, skip vehicles and gritters.

Wakefield Council's annual statement of accounts said that they'd joined other organisations in making claims against the cartel off the back of the EU ruling.

If the case is successful, the local taxpayer could receive about £2.4m in damages.

The council's legal adviser, Gillian Marshall, said that the case had not yet started but had to do so before November 2020.

She added that the Local Government Association (LGA) was co-ordinating the action on behalf of several councils who are making similar claims.

The LGA has been repeatedly contacted for comment and further details since the end of August, but it has not responded.

The group of manufacturers was responsible for around 90 per cent of the trucks on Europe's roads at the time of the collusion.

The EU said that top bosses from each of the companies had met repeatedly in the late 1990s and early 2000s to discuss their plans.

Daimler was fined more than one billion euros for their part in the activity, while Volvo, Iveco and DAR were given penalties ranging between 750 million euros and 495 million euros.

MAN avoided a financial punishment after blowing the whistle on the cartel.

Local Democracy Reporting Service