VW Hit With Stiff Fine Over Pricing

The European Union’s head office fined Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest auto maker, $27 million in the wake of a price-fixing investigation.

The fine resulted from findings that VW pressured German dealers into dropping rebates to customers who bought the redesigned Passat from 1996 to 1999, making the cars among the most expensive in Europe. Dealers allegedly were threatened with the termination of dealer contracts if they failed to maintain prices for the model.

German consumers could have saved up to $1,750 on each of the 400,000 Passats sold in Germany over the three-year period, an EU Commission spokesman said.

Volkswagen said it would appeal the penalty, the largest ever levied against a company by the EC.