Car dealers claim Toyota edging them out

Fifteen Irish car dealers and repair garages yesterday filed a complaint with the Competition Authority alleging breaches of Irish and EU competition law by Toyota Ireland.

This follows the initiation of High Court proceedings earlier this month by the garages against the motor giant alleging anti-competitive behaviour in the way it operates its authorised repairer network.

The 17-page complaint claims Toyota Ireland has been engaged in anti-competitive behaviour to protect the motor company’s dealerships and to close off the market for repair and maintenance services to the 15 garages.

The complaint, which has been seen by The Irish Times, notes that 12 of the 15 complainants had their dealership contracts with Toyota Ireland terminated at a time when the motor company introduced a policy that all of its dealers must be exclusive with the car maker.

Service promotion

The garages claim they have been denied access to the Toyota free service promotion. They argue this effectively blocks them from servicing half of the new Toyotas sold each year and has affected their relationships with long-standing customers.

The garages also allege that Toyota has discriminated against them with its credit terms. They claim Toyota dealerships have a 60-day credit period on the purchase of spare parts while theirs has been “further reduced” to 14 days, which has “cost up to €80,000 in cash-flow deficit in respect of a single complainant”.

The garages involved include five in Dublin: Cranley Cars, Naas Road; Linders of Chapelizod; McCoy Motors, Lucan; Murphy & Gunn, Rathgar; and White & Delahunty Motors, Sallynoggin. Fitzpatrick’s garages in Carlow, Kildare, Naas and Tullamore, three Kearys companies in Cork, Cavanaghs, Cork; Hogan Motors, Ennis; and Motorpark, Galway.

In a statement, Toyota Ireland “strongly” refuted the claims. “Toyota Ireland is satisfied , and advised, that it has at all times complied with competition law and the terms of its agreement with these authorised repairers,” the company said. It said it intends to vigorously defend its position against what it regards as an unmeritorious claim.