The Antitrust has fined three car manufacturers for a total of 650 thousand euros for unfair commercial practices. These are – indicates a note from the Authority – FCA Italy (300 thousand euros), Toyota (200 thousand) and Nissan (150 thousand).
The companies were fined for providing "in an incomplete and ambiguous way" information on the total cost of the cars advertised in the various versions (Panda, Punto, 500, Quybo, Doblò, in the case of Fiat Italy; Aygo and Yaris Hybrid Cool, in the case of Toyota; and the Juke, Micra, Note and X-Trail models, in the case of Nissan): in particular, those on payment methods and on the calculation of the price, disseminated through the Internet sites of the operators and other means of communication.
The Antitrust specifically disputes that FCA Italy, Toyota and Nissan have failed to specify that the cost of the models in promotion was reserved only for those who had decided to take advantage of an installment loan agreement. The advertised amount was considered untrue neither for those wishing to purchase the car in ways other than installment financing, nor for those wishing to benefit from the installment payment: in this case, the price should necessarily have been increased by the cost of the financing, a circumstance not adequately specified in the advertising messages disseminated by the three car manufacturers.
