India’s antitrust regulator is looking into allegations that the country’s biggest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki has been adopted to anti-competitive practices by controlling how its dealers discounted cars.
The majority is owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp. It is a household name in India where it orders a 51 per cent market share. Maruti has almost 3,000 dealers in the country and has sold 1.73 million passenger vehicles in the year ending in March.
The allegations are such that Maruti forces its dealers to limit its discounts they offer. Implying the effective boiling competition among them and messing consumers who could have received benefit from lower prices if dealers operated freely.
Competition Commission of India (CCI) has been reviewing the allegations for about 10 months. The ultimate decision on whether there needs to be a full investigation has not been reached.