FTC’s plan to collect hefty fine from Mercedes-Benz seen as hardly feasible

The nation’s antitrust watchdog is unlikely to collect the full amount of the hefty fine it imposed on Mercedes-Benz Korea over the carmaker’s electric vehicle (EV) fire scandal, as inconclusive findings on the cause of the blaze make it difficult to assign direct responsibility to the carmaker, experts said Wednesday. The outlook came in response to the Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) high-profile penalty of 11.2 billion won ($7.6 million) imposed on the carmaker. The authority said Tuesday that the company misled consumers about the batteries used in its EQE electric sedan, effectively deceiving customers in an effort to boost sales in Korea. However, industry experts said the likelihood of the authority collecting the fine is very slim due to weak legal grounds. Mercedes-Benz Korea expressed discontent over the sanction and said it plans to file an administrative lawsuit. “The investigation by the National Forensic Service concluded that the cause of the blaze involving the EQE vehicle was undetermined, making it difficult to hold the carmaker fully responsible for the incidentWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times