EU anti-trust investigators stage "raids" on heavy truck makers throughout Europe

BRUSSELS -- The EU's anti-trust watchdog commission made surprise inspections at heavy truck makers throughout Europe on Tuesday over suspicions that they had formed an illegal cartel. Big named manufacturers included in the sweep were Sweden's Scania and Volvo, Germany's Daimler and MAN, and Iveco in Italy.

According to an AFP news wire, most companies concerned confirmed that their offices were visited, one spokesman saying: "...it was not a dawn raid but rather an afternoon tea raid."

The commission said in a statement that it had '"reason to believe that the companies concerned may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices and/or the abuse of a dominant market position."

In September, the British Office of Fair Trading (OFT) launched a probe into alleged price-fixing by major truck makers, including Daimler and MAN, which resulted in one arrest.

All companies involved confirmed the probes and released similar statements expressing full cooperation and compliance with investigators.