On 7 June 2006, the Stockholm City Court brought in a verdict of acquittal from accusations of illegal price collusion in favour of Bilia Personbilar AB and seven other authorised Volvo dealers in Skåne and Blekinge. On 28 June, the Swedish Competition Authority appealed to the Swedish Market Court, asking for permission to develop the grounds for its appeal and present more precise evidence at a later date. The authority has today supplemented its appeal.
The Market Court is the final court of appeal in cases of this kind.
The main negotiations in this case are not expected to take place any earlier than April/May 2007.
“We are currently examining the content of the Competition Authority’s appeal to the Market Court,” says Bilia’s CEO, Jan Pettersson. “Even though we have not as yet had an opportunity to study what is described as new evidence, we feel, after a preliminary review of the material, that we can say that the Competition Authority is arguing according to the same main principles as it did in the city court. Our view that the city court’s verdict of acqiuttal was correct in principle is unchanged.”
Göteborg, 26 September 2006
Bilia AB (publ)
For further information, please contact Bilia’s managing director, Jan Pettersson, on: +46 31 709 55 00.
