South Korea's antitrust regulator said on Tuesday it had fined Mercedes-Benz 11.2 billion won ($7.61 million) for misleading consumers about the battery suppliers used in some of its electric vehicles. South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) pointed out that the sales guide distributed by Mercedes-Benz to dealers implies that all EQE and EQS electric models are equipped with battery cells produced by China's CATL, the world's largest battery manufacturer.
However, the FTC statement pointed out that some Mercedes-Benz electric models actually use battery cells supplied by China Funeng Technology 688567.SS. This information was deliberately omitted from the internal sales guide and was not disclosed to dealers and consumers.
According to industry tracking agency SNE Research, CATL will account for 39% of the global electric vehicle battery market in 2025, while Funeng Technology is not among the top ten battery suppliers in the world.
According to FTC statistics, approximately 3,000 vehicles equipped with Funeng Technology batteries were sold between June 2023 and August 2024, with total sales of approximately 281 billion won. The regulator said the 11.2 billion won fine was equivalent to 4% of relevant sales, the maximum penalty allowed by law for such unfair practices.
FTC officials said Mercedes-Benz's German headquarters and its Korean unit will jointly bear the fine.
The FTC also announced that it would hand over Mercedes-Benz's German headquarters and its Korean division to prosecutors, saying both were directly or indirectly involved in formulating and distributing sales guides.