China regulator takes aim at Lexus parts pricing policies
China questions executives from Toyota about luxury brand's parts policies as foreign players are fined for anti-competitive behaviour
China's regulator has summoned executives from Toyota Motor Corp over pricing policies and practices for spare and replacement parts at its luxury Lexus division, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
A rash of antitrust investigations that encompass a wide range of firms including Microsoft Corp and chipmaker Qualcomm has prompted complaints from foreign officials and the business community that foreign firms are being targeted unfairly.
According to three China-based Toyota executives, the National Development and Reform Commission this month summoned Beijing-based executives at Lexus for questioning.
Two of the executives said the commission questioned the Lexus leaders about the brand's spare and replacement parts policies, including pricing.
Toyota spokesman Takanori Yokoi declined to comment on the information provided by the sources, but said the firm would co-operate with Chinese authorities if there was a probe into anti-competitive matters.
The summoning of Lexus China executives escalates the regulator's probe into Toyota. Earlier this year, the commission made initial inquiries about the brand's car-parts policies through the China Automobile Dealers Association, Toyota executives familiar with the matter have said, adding that the association has been conducting an industry-wide survey since April.
Two of the executives with information about the commission's latest move said it was looking into pricing policies and practices of the Japanese luxury brand in Guangdong province.
It appeared the regulator was trying to build a case against Lexus for engaging in price manipulation in connection with spare parts, they said.
But they added it did not seem that a fine on Lexus was imminent.
"As far as I know and at this point, there is no imminent action on us," one of the executives said. "It's been very quiet."
Last week, Hubei province's price bureau said it would fine the sales unit of Volkswagen's joint venture FAW-Volkswagen Automobile 249 million yuan (HK$313.5 million) for fixing Audi prices. The regulator's Shanghai branch also fined the China sales unit of Fiat's Chrysler 32 million yuan for operating a price monopoly.
Other global carmakers being probed for possible anti-competitive behaviour include Daimler's Mercedes-Benz and Tata Motors' Jaguar Land Rover.
In response to the car dealers' association survey, Toyota's legal department in Beijing provided over the summer written answers and evidence in "several thick binders", according to the carmaker's officials. The survey was capped by a visit by an association official to Lexus's office in Beijing in late July.
