OFT probes price fixing

The UK’s Office of Fair Trading has launched an investigation into suspected price fixing by truck manufacturers.



As part of its enquiries, which are taking place under the Enterprise Act 2002 and the Competition Act 1998, the OFT earlier this week invited itself to the offices of Mercedes-Benz UK in Tongwell, Milton Keynes. Following the raid, one person was arrested but later bailed.

The Enterprise Act is a serious piece of legislation - breaches can result in criminal charges, with the possibility that individuals can be jailed for up to five years, and the company fined up to 10% of its global turnover.



A spokesman for Mercedes-Benz has said that the company "… is fully co-operating with the investigation which may take many months or more to complete."



Meanwhile, rival firms Scania, MAN and Volvo Trucks / Renault Trucks have confirmed that they have already received letters from the OFT notifying them of the investigation and requesting information. Iveco and DAF, The other two major commercial vehicle makers operating in the UK, have indicated that they are prepared to fully cooperate with the OFT probe.

Video: Iveco’s Amphibious Terramare ATV

The Terramare is a prototype amphibious vehicle based on the Iveco Daily 4x4. Developed by Milan-born engineer Maurizio Zanisi, the Terramare managed to successfully cross the Corsica Channel in a 75 nautical miles voyage that took about 14 hours to complete.

According to the Italian manufacturer, the reason behind the crossing was to draw attention to the injustice experienced by sections of the population in Mali who are deprived of their right to water. In particular, the Terramare project will promote a water supply and sanitation project implemented along the Niger River, which is supporting 12,000 people by guaranteeing each person 25 liters of drinking water per day on a permanent basis. -Video after the jump

Iveco’s Experimental Amphibious Terramare Truck

Fiat Group owned truck and commercial vehicle manufacturer Iveco has completed a seabound journey using an experimental amphibious vehicle based on its Iveco Daily 4x4 truck. The Iveco Terramare prototype managed to cross the Corsica Channel, which runs between Tuscany and Corsica, in a 75 nautical miles (approximately 140 km) voyage that took about 14 hours to complete. -Continued

The amphibious Terramare was developed by Milan-born engineer Maurizio Zanisi. The latter modified the Iveco Daily 4x4 by adding an internally welded steel hull and a waterjet propulsion system along with supplementary fuel tanks with a total capacity of 300 litres or about 80 gallons that guaranteed a successful sea crossing without the need to refuel. Iveco says that the Terramare is capable of achieving a top speed on the road of 100 km/h (62 mph) and 10 km/h (6 mph) in the water.

Iveco Introduces Land Rover Based Massif 4x4

Iveco, an Italian truck, bus and diesel engine manufacturer owned by the Fiat Group presented the Massif 4x4 at the Amsterdam RAI International Road Transport Show.The Massif, derived from the Spanish made Santana PS-10 which in turn is based on the Land Rover Defender, will be available in three-door and five-door estate versions, as a pick-up and also in a version with chassis cab. The rugged 4x4 will be offered solely with Iveco’s own 3.0-liter common rail turbodiesel engine, combined with a 5-speed manual gearbox. -One more image after the jump

Via: Autoblog.it , Source: Iveco