A Japanese automotive parts manufacturer has pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to fix prices and rig bids for spark plugs, standard oxygen sensors, and air fuel ratio sensors installed in cars sold to automobile manufacturers in the United States and elsewhere.
NGK Spark Plug Co. Ltd., based in Nagoya, Japan, has agreed to pay a $52.1 million criminal fine for its role in the conspiracy, which lasted from at least January 2000 until July 2011.
The company, which manufactures and sells spark plugs, standard oxygen sensors, and air fuel ratio sensors, sold these products at non-competitive prices to automobile manufacturers in the United States and elsewhere in furtherance of the agreement.
According to the one-count felony charge filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit, NGK Spark Plug engaged in a conspiracy to rig bids for, and to fix, stabilize and maintain the prices of, spark plugs, standard oxygen sensors, and air fuel ratio sensors installed in cars sold to automobile manufacturers such as DaimlerChrysler AG, Honda Motor Co. Ltd., and Toyota Motor Corp., among others.
NGK Spark Plug’s guilty plea is the latest in the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation into anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts industry. The division has filed charges against 28 companies and 26 executives, who have agreed to pay a total of $2.4 billion in criminal fines.
The charge against NGK Spark Plug is a violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of a $100 million criminal fine for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
“Today’s guilty plea is just another example of the commitment of the Antitrust Division to preserving fair and legal competitive practices,” said Brent Snyder, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division’s criminal enforcement program. “We will continue to do whatever it takes to protect U.S. consumers and businesses.”
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