Audi faces 1.8b yuan anti-monopoly fine: reports

German luxury carmaker Audi is facing a 1.8 billion yuan (HK$2.27 billion) penalty for monopoly practices, the highest such penalty ever meted out in China, according to a source quoted by mainland media.

The penalty is about 1 per cent of the company’s total sales in China last year. Audi sold 488,488 cars on the mainland last year at an average price of about 400,000 yuan, generating some 195.4 billion yuan in revenue.

The penalty would be much higher than the record fines, totalling 668 million yuan, the National Development and Reform Commission slapped on six producers of infant milk formula in August last year for violating anti-monopoly laws.

Audi slashed prices for its spare parts last week after its British rival Jaguar Land Rover reduced prices for three popular models in response to an NDRC investigation of anti-competitive practices by foreign carmakers.

Apart from Audi, 11 car distributors in Hubei also face penalties, ranging from 6 million yuan to 50 million yuan, the mainland press reports said.