Autoliv Granted Fine Reductions in European Commission Investigation

Cleary Gottlieb assisted Autoliv in the context of the European Commission’s investigation into automotive occupant safety systems.

After concluding a six-year investigation in November 2017, the European Commission imposed a fine of €34 million on five car-safety equipment suppliers involved, according to the decision, in one or more of four different concerted practices covering the supply of car seatbelts, airbags and steering wheels to Japanese car manufacturers.

We assisted our client Autoliv in receiving up to 50 percent fine reduction under the Leniency Notice and an additional 10 percent under the Settlement Notice.

The occupant safety investigation is part of a major enforcement effort against suspected cartels in the car-parts sector. Cleary has played a leading role in representing numerous automotive parts manufacturers in the worldwide cartel investigations into industry-wide price fixing, as well as in related “follow-on” litigation. We have successfully resolved investigations, in some cases resulting in significant fine reductions or even no fine at all, in the U.S., Europe and numerous other jurisdictions.