Toyota has been fined 87.6 million yuan ($12.5 million USD) by the Chinese government for price-fixing Lexus vehicles in the eastern Jiangsu province — from Reuters:
The anti-monopoly bureau of State Administration for Market Regulation said that between 2015 and 2018, the Japanese carmaker set a minimum sales and resale price for its cars in coastal Jiangsu province, which deprived dealers of pricing autonomy and harmed customers’ rights.
Lexus also fixed sales strategies in the region over the period, including offering customers discounts while asking them to purchase accessories at fixed prices, a sales tactic usual among individual auto dealers in China but frowned upon for carmakers.
Lexus is one of the few vehicle brands in China to see a sales increase in 2019, posting a 21% jump to 180,200 units sold as of November.
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