Tesco, the British retail giant, has initiated legal action against Scania, a Swedish commercial vehicle manufacturer, alleging financial losses suffered in the UK. The claim, filed in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), involves Tesco Store and Tesco Distribution suing Scania and its British entities for damages and other losses stemming from purported violations of competition law concerning trucks.
The claim, lodged on Tuesday, alleges that Scania engaged in unlawful and anti-competitive behavior, particularly regarding pricing practices aimed at harmonizing gross prices in Europe with the introduction of emission technologies. Tesco asserts that this coordination led to increased costs for customers between 1997 and 2011.
Tesco’s case draws on the European Commission’s 2017 infringement decision against Scania, which found the company guilty of colluding with five other truck manufacturers for 14 years on pricing and passing on costs related to emission regulations. The Commission imposed a hefty fine of over €880 million on Scania.
The legal proceedings are being handled by BCLP, Tesco’s external legal counsel, with Edward Coulson leading the case. Both Tesco and Scania have refrained from commenting on the ongoing litigation.
Meanwhile, the CAT is also overseeing another class action lawsuit, amounting to £2 billion, against a group of European truck makers accused of price-fixing lorries for more than a decade.
