GM faces widening inquiry into pricing practices
Shanghai General Motors said China's antitrust regulator has begun investigating the company amid an industry crackdown that has seen at least seven foreign carmakers cut prices.
Shanghai GM, a joint venture between GM and SAIC Motor Corp., has "actively responded" since 2012 to requests from the National Development and Reform Commission's anti-monopoly bureau and assisted with its investigation, GM told Bloomberg News.
"We have continuously strengthened the company's operations and management," the company said, declining to elaborate on the status of the investigation.
The NDRC is China's main economic planner and has primary responsibility for pricing oversight. Over the past month, the commission has pressured carmakers to cut prices as part of an investigation into the auto industry that started in late 2011.
The commission has said the probe was meant to ensure market order and protect consumer interests.
Audi AG, BMW AG, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, Chrysler, Toyota and Honda have announced price cuts of vehicles or spare parts since July in the wake of an investigation by the NDRC into more than a dozen automakers.
'Reasonable Level'
Shanghai GM's major models are ''priced at a reasonable level, with almost no markups in sales," GM said in its statement.
For Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac models, the average sum of replacing all the parts relative to the price of a new vehicle is close to 300 percent, the average level in the U.S. and European markets, GM said.
Replacing all the parts of a Mercedes C-class sedan can cost 12 times the price of a brand new model, according to an April report by the Insurance Association of China and China Auto Maintenance & Repair Association.
Separately, Audi said that its China joint venture FAW-Volkswagen will be penalized for violating the anti-monopoly law.
"We have continuously strengthened the company's operations and management," the company said, declining to elaborate on the status of the investigation.
The NDRC is China's main economic planner and has primary responsibility for pricing oversight. Over the past month, the commission has pressured carmakers to cut prices as part of an investigation into the auto industry that started in late 2011.
The commission has said the probe was meant to ensure market order and protect consumer interests.
Audi AG, BMW AG, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, Chrysler, Toyota and Honda have announced price cuts of vehicles or spare parts since July in the wake of an investigation by the NDRC into more than a dozen automakers.
'Reasonable Level'
Shanghai GM's major models are ''priced at a reasonable level, with almost no markups in sales," GM said in its statement.
For Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac models, the average sum of replacing all the parts relative to the price of a new vehicle is close to 300 percent, the average level in the U.S. and European markets, GM said.
Replacing all the parts of a Mercedes C-class sedan can cost 12 times the price of a brand new model, according to an April report by the Insurance Association of China and China Auto Maintenance & Repair Association.
Separately, Audi said that its China joint venture FAW-Volkswagen will be penalized for violating the anti-monopoly law.
