The Copenhagen City Court has fined German engine manufacturer Deutz AG 8 million Danish kroner, approximately 1.07 million euros, for severe violations of competition law. The ruling resolves a long-standing case regarding anti-competitive practices that directly disrupted train services in Denmark and inflated costs for the national rail operator, DSB.
According to antitrust regulators, Deutz abused its dominant market position and colluded with its local dealer, Diesel Motor Nordic, to restrict access to specialized spare parts needed to refurbish Denmark’s IC3 train fleet. By refusing direct supplies and blocking parallel imports, the company prevented third-party competitors from sourcing crucial components. Tine Rønde, Deputy Director General of the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority, highlighted that this anti-competitive behavior forced DSB to pay inflated prices for parts and left multiple trains out of service far longer than necessary, ultimately causing significant delays and inconvenience for rail passengers.
The legal battle dates back to June 2013, when the Danish Competition Council first determined that Deutz and its local distributor had violated statutory prohibitions against market abuse and anti-competitive agreements. Deutz repeatedly appealed the finding through higher legal channels, culminating in a December 2024 ruling by the Danish Supreme Court that definitively upheld the breach of the Competition Act.
With the core legal violation established by the Supreme Court, the criminal proceedings handled by the National Unit for Serious Crime (NSK) resumed. Diesel Motor Nordic recently resolved its portion of the case by paying an out-of-court fine of 1 million kroner, or around 134,000 euros.
In addition to fining Deutz AG, the Copenhagen City Court found a senior executive at the firm guilty of participating in the illegal scheme. However, the court waived the manager’s personal penalty due to the excessive length of time elapsed since the initial offense. The monetary penalty imposed on Deutz was calculated using the statutory guidelines in effect when the infringement originally took place, rather than under newer rules established after the 2021 amendments to Danish competition law.