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BMW: Millions in damage to garage - Weko stops investigation!
A car dealership invested millions in a partnership with BMW that ended unexpectedly. Weko is investigating alleged abuse of power.
BMW: Millions in damage to garage - Weko stops investigation!
A car dealership in Switzerland that has been a partner of BMW for decades finds itself in a difficult position due to an unexpected trade association with the car manufacturer. This company has invested several million in the renewal and expansion of its services in recent years after BMW Group Switzerland promised a continued business relationship. But contrary to expectations, BMW ended the collaboration without offering an appropriate interim solution. This led to the garage filing a complaint with the Competition Commission (Comco).
During the investigation, the parties had the opportunity to resolve their differences. BMW and the garage agreed on a temporary extension of the existing business relationship, which eliminated the antitrust concerns that had been raised. However, the Comco determined that BMW's behavior was presumably impermissible because the garage was dependent on BMW and had no reasonable alternative options. These findings led to the costs of the procedure being transferred to BMW.
Competition Commission and the termination of the proceedings
In a recent decision, the Comco closed the proceedings against BMW. The main justification for this was that BMW was able to address the antitrust concerns during the investigation. Nevertheless, the critical assessment of BMW's behavior remains, which according to Comco was classified as presumably inadmissible. The investigation revealed that BMW, as one of Switzerland's largest advertising clients, may have abused its relative market power.
The garage and BMW must now find the way into the future together. The current decision can be referred to the Federal Administrative Court, which creates additional uncertainty in the industry. Industry experts are closely monitoring the situation as it could impact market conditions and business relationships between automakers and their partners.
The development shows how important it is to ensure fair market conditions and transparent relationships in automotive sales. The cooperation between the car dealership and BMW had grown over the years, but recent developments raise questions as to whether such partnerships can remain stable in the future.