EU Violently Crushes 15-Year Auto Cartel in Massive $500 Million Bust…

If you were wondering what the auto industry’s version of white-collar crime looks like, well here you go: The European Commission just dropped the hammer on 15 carmakers and their little trade group buddy for running a cartel so brazen it makes the mafia look like amateur hour. And the best part? Mercedes-Benz got off scot-free by legit snitching on the whole d*mn crew. 

(Source: Giphy) 

In short, between 2002 and 2017—yes, 15 years of “we swear we’re sustainable”—Volkswagen, Stellantis, Renault-Nissan, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, GM, Volvo, and more coordinated a quiet little agreement not to pay for the dismantling of end-of-life vehicles. That’s right, they all agreed: “Let’s not compete, let’s not spend, and for the love of god, let’s not tell customers how recyclable our cars are.” Which in their minds, was valid, because why let consumers make informed, environmentally conscious decisions when you can just collectively shrug and suppress the data?

However, if you’re an expert in EU law, you’d know the part where it says automakers are supposed to foot the bill if dismantlers lose money recycling old cars. And you’d also know how companies are supposed to advertise how many recycled materials are used in their new cars. The problem? This whole Oceans 15 crew collectively agreed together, not to do either. Transparency at its finest. 

(Source: Cars Scoop) 

And just to really tie a bow on the collusion, the automakers’ trade association—ACEA—acted as the cartel’s glorified event planner, organizing meetings and calls so the companies could coordinate their anti-competitive behavior with the efficiency of a Fortune 500 offsite.

The total fines for this sh*show? €458 million, or about $495 million. Naturally, Volkswagen (the Nazi-originated behemoth) got hit the hardest with $137.7 million in fines, while Stellantis is coughing up $80.8 million. Additionally, Renault-Nissan got tagged for $87.9 million, while Ford got slapped with $44.7 million. Heck, even the ACEA itself even got fined around $500k for being the whole chaperone of the deal. 

(Source: Yahoo Finance) 

Oh, and Mercedes? Yeah, they were in on it too, but they lawyered up, played the immunity card, and ratted everyone out to avoid a $35 million fine. Apparently, snitches don’t get stitches these days—they get full immunity. Of course, every single one of these automakers groveled and admitted their guilt to clinch a 10% discount on their fines. But what’s hilarious about this, is that Stellantis, for what it’s worth, said they had already accounted for the fine in their 2024 earnings LOL—Whaaaat? When you already have a cartel line item in your budget, you know the system’s broken. 

In the end, it’s clear as day that this debacle is 15 years of coordinated deception designed to keep costs low and the optics clean. And in a world where every brand wants to slap “sustainable” on their marketing deck, this kind of scandal is more than just a brand headache—it’s a full-blown credibility crisis. Not to mention that this is all coming to a head as Trump’s trade war sequel is about to drop tariffs on the auto sector like it's 2018 all over again. So yeah, April’s going to be one hell of a month for carmakers.

(Source: Giphy) 

Which means, if you’re an investor, this is one of those moments where you realize ESG isn't just a checkbox—it’s a landmine. And if you're in the C-suite of an automaker, maybe now’s a good time to double-check your Slack logs before the EU shows up with another subpoena.

Bottom line, the cartel is dead, the fines are real, and Mercedes is somewhere watching its back while the rest of the industry scrambles to explain how “coordinated silence” wasn’t actually, you know, illegal. Hilarious. For now, do what you will with this information, and place your bets accordingly. As always, stay safe and stay frosty, friends! Until next time… 

P.S. If you’re tired of missing out on explosive plays, maybe it’s time to join Stocks.News Premium. You’ll get trade alerts like this twice a week, plus our Insider Trading Tool that tracks everyone from overpaid CEOs to your favorite Congress members cashing in on their "foresight." Oh, and unlike Bloomberg, we don’t charge a small fortune for the privilege. They might have fancy terminals, but do they deliver breaking trade alerts and tools that actually move the needle? Didn’t think so. Go here to become a Stocks.News premium member now.

Stocks.News holds positions in Ford as mentioned in the article.