The German Federal Cartel Office has penalised three corporate entities and an individual a total of 11.9 million euros following an investigation into vertical price-fixing practices within the German wholesale tire market.
The enforcement action targets Maxxis International GmbH, the sole German importer of Maxxis and CST brand tires manufactured by Taiwan’s Cheng Shin Rubber Industry Company, alongside domestic tire wholesalers Best4Tires Berlin GmbH and Reifen Müller GmbH & Co. KG. The antitrust proceedings were initiated after another tire wholesaler submitted a cooperation application alerting regulators to the illicit practices.
According to antitrust authorities, the price-restricting scheme originated around late 2015 when Maxxis entered into margin guarantee agreements with wholesaler Reifen Müller and Best4Tires Berlin’s predecessor, 1a Berlin Tyre GmbH & Co. KG. These initial arrangements guaranteed specific profit margins per tire sold in exchange for an understanding that the wholesalers would avoid aggressive price competition, particularly on the online trading platform Tyre24, and market the inventory defensives instead. Maxxis subsequently expanded similar margin guarantee structures to nine additional tire wholesalers across Germany.
To enforce price discipline, Maxxis implemented a comprehensive price moderation system. This mechanism relied on circulating recommended retail prices, continuously tracking actual sales prices on digital platforms like Tyre24, and directly intervening when wholesalers discounted products below target thresholds. Monitored transactions were simplified because companies held dual buyer and seller profiles on Tyre24, allowing participants to track competitors’ stock volumes and pricing in real time.
Andreas Mundt, President of the Federal Cartel Office, emphasized that vertical price-fixing restricts retailer pricing freedom and systematically leads to inflated consumer costs. He noted that agreements guaranteeing profit margins while curbing price competition remain strictly illegal under long-standing antitrust laws.
Maxxis formally ended its price moderation practices and cancelled its remaining margin guarantee arrangements in July 2024 following the launch of the regulatory investigation. In calculating the financial penalties, authorities applied mitigating factors to Maxxis and Best4Tires Berlin for their cooperation in clarifying the case history, while Maxxis and Reifen Müller agreed to an amicable settlement. The penalty decisions remain subject to appeal before the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf.