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Today, the General Administration of Market Supervision issued a penalty decision on Toyota Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd., fining Toyota 87 million yuan for violating the Anti-monopoly Law, according to relevant media reports.

This time, Toyota violated the provisions of Article 14 of the Anti-monopoly Law by unifying the quotation of the dealer network and limiting the minimum price for resale by dealers. According to articles 46 and 49 of the Anti-monopoly Law, the Jiangsu Provincial Market Supervision and Administration Bureau made an administrative penalty decision on the case, ordering the party concerned to stop the illegal act, and decided to impose a fine of 2% of the sales of the previous year (2016), that is, 87.6131 million yuan.

According to the decision, there are two main violations this time: one is that the parties reached an agreement with the dealer to limit the dealer network quotation and the resale price of some models; the other is that the parties implemented the agreement to limit the dealer network quotation and the resale price of some models, and the parties implemented price control through a number of management measures, while the dealers implemented the price requirements of the parties.

From June 2015 to February 2018, by holding dealer meetings, shop inspections and Wechat notices, the regional sales managers involved asked dealers in Jiangsu Province to quote prices uniformly according to the suggested retail prices of each model when selling Lexus cars on Internet platforms (Automobile Home, car-changing Network). Dealers shall not lower the online quotation without authorization.

From 2016 to March 2018, the regional sales managers concerned restricted the minimum resale price of key Lexus models such as ES200, ES300h, NX200, CT200, RX450, NX300, LX570 and LS series by holding regional cooperation meetings and Wechat notices.

For example, the maximum discount rate for the Lexus RX450 should not exceed 6% of the recommended retail price. The minimum opening price of the elite is 273000 yuan, the lowest opening price of the ES300h comfort car is 353000 yuan, and the lowest opening price of the NX200 cutting-edge model is 288000 yuan. The NX300, LX570 and LS series all require that there is no cash discount when the new models appear on the market. Involved in Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou and other regions, more than 12 dealers.

The Market Supervision Administration pointed out that by virtue of their own dominant position and strict management measures, the parties have a strong binding force, which limits market competition and harms the interests of consumers. For dealers, they are deprived of the right of independent pricing, so that resources can not be allocated reasonably, and infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of dealers; for consumers, they are forced to accept the price formed by non-competition and bear higher purchase costs. lost the right of free choice, harmed the legitimate interests of consumers.

Obviously, Toyota's sales in China have been very strong in recent years, and even in the declining car market, Toyota has been able to set a record for two consecutive years. According to the data, Toyota sold 1.29 million vehicles in 2017, up 6.3% from the same period last year; in 2018, it reached 147.45, up 14.3% from the same period last year; in the first 11 months of this year, the cumulative sales of Toyota's three car companies in China exceeded 1.47 million, exceeding the total sales for the whole of last year. Thanks to the popularity of Lexus, Lexus sold 180200 vehicles this year as of the end of November, up 21.01% from a year earlier, and is expected to set a new record for the whole year in China.

In the face of sales growth, Toyota still uses the performance of hunger marketing, such as the huge price increase of Elfa, and the undecorated Henlanda, which can not lift the car, and is still selling well. The situation in Lexus is even more serious, almost making the fare increase a "hidden rule", otherwise the car will have to wait for several months or more than half a year.

Although Toyota has repeatedly made good achievements in China, from the perspective of marketing means, it does not look at Toyota's sincerity in China, but continues to gain revenue by means of infringing upon the interests of consumers, but for this punishment for Toyota's suspected price monopoly, it doesn't seem to have the greatest impact on Toyota.

Since the regulatory authorities launched the antitrust investigation in the auto industry in the past three years from 2014 to 2016, there have been a number of antitrust investigations in the auto industry, of which Dongfeng Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Audi were fined 123.3 million yuan, 350 million yuan and 250 million yuan respectively due to price monopoly. Toyota and Lexus were the least.

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