Brussels, 09/11/2011 (Agence Europe) -Auto Ritz, a French former private dealership independent of the Citroën brand, made a complaint against the car builder on 9 November, which it claims paid more than €551 million between 2000 and 2008 to its own distribution subsidiary, Société commerciale Citroën, to the detriment of independent private dealerships. A similar case may be submitted “before the end of the year” to the French competition authorities and the European Commission, which may then take a closer interest in Citroën's activities, according to one source. The case may also put a flea in the Commission's ear over the anti-competitive behaviour of other car builders, of automatically covering the operating losses of their sales subsidiaries.
Auto Ritz was the last private dealership independent of Citroën in Paris. When, in 2002, it turned down a takeover bid by the car builder, the latter set up its own distribution unit in the same area as Auto Ritz, taking custom away from the independent dealership, which was forced to shut up shop in 2006 and make its staff redundant. Auto Ritz's 31 employees then took action against the car builder, which was ordered in 2010 to pay them around €1.5 million in damages. (FG/transl.fl)