Top five car distributors accused of illegal price-fixing

FIVE of the country’s biggest motor distributors have been named as being involved in alleged price-fixing on sales of new cars.

RTÉ’s Prime Time Investigates programme last night identified the Irish dealership networks of Ford, Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Citroën and Volvo as operating cartels in order to restrict competition within the trade.

The five brands account for almost 20% of all cars sold in the Republic. Consumer groups claim the illegal practice could be adding up to 30% to the price of new cars.