JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Sept. 9, 2010)—Three of the four tire makers accused of colluding on pricing in South Africa have responded with guarded comments, saying they have not been presented with the formal allegations and therefore cannot respond in detail.
The three—Apollo Tyres South Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Goodyear South Africa (Pty.) Ltd. and Continental Tyre South Africa (Pty.) Ltd.—all acknowledged they are cooperating with South African authorities, which disclosed earlier this week that they were charging the makers with collusive tendering, price fixing, information exchange and market allocation.
Bridgestone South Africa (Pty.) Ltd. also was charged, but earlier it said it was cooperating with authorities in the investigation.
Goodyear said it has provided its “full cooperation in the investigation that started in 2008 and also conducted our own internal investigation. We found no circumstances indicating there had been any wrongdoing.”
The Akron-based tire maker added that it has strict business conduct policies that prohibit anticompetitive activities and remains committed to all competition regulations.
Apollo Tyres said it is “transparent in submitting all information as requested.”
Continental declined to comment until it had clarified the legal position.