Supplier Series : Unmasking MAHLE GmbH – Cartels, Cover-Ups, and the Bloody Cost to Us All

By /

Listen, I’ve traipsed through some of the filthiest jobs around. But the automotive industry? That’s a whole other beast – a snarling, oil-slicked monster where companies like Mahle GmbH play god with engine parts, filters, and thermal systems, all while screwing over competition, consumers, and the very air we breathe. Mahle, this German giant, struts around as a pioneer in mobility, but peel back the layers, and you’ll find a history rotten with antitrust rot, price-fixing schemes that’d make a mob boss blush, and a cosy relationship with outfits like Cummins that reeks of shared ethical bankruptcy. These aren’t just corporate slip-ups; they’re calculated heists that jack up prices, stifle innovation, and leave the little guy – you and me – footing the bill. And the worst part? They get away with slaps on the wrist while we choke on the exhaust. Let’s dive into this cesspool, no holds barred.

The Thermal Systems Cartel: A Global Fuck-You to Fair Play

Picture this: from 2005 to god-knows-when in 2017, Mahle Behr – that’s Mahle’s thermal management arm – huddled in shadowy meetings with scum like Denso, Valeo, and Sanden, carving up the market for air con units, radiators, and engine coolers like it was a pie at a backroom feast.

They fixed prices, rigged bids, and divvied up customers – Volkswagen, Daimler, BMW – ensuring no one undercut the other. This wasn’t some petty squabble; it was a decade-long orgy of collusion that inflated parts costs, trickling down to higher vehicle prices for millions of suckers worldwide.

The European Commission nailed them in 2017 with a 62.1 million euro fine for Mahle Behr, part of a 155 million euro haul from the pack.

Brazil’s CADE slapped on a 24.9 million real settlement in 2016, later ballooning fines in related filter cartels to 235 million reals.

Even South Africa got in on the action in 2020, confirming a measly 1.62 million rand penalty for HVAC price chats that screwed OEMs.

Shocking? Bloody right – this was no isolated incident but a symptom of the auto parts super-cartel, where Mahle admitted guilt in settlements, yet the damage lingers like a bad hangover, hiking costs for everyday drivers.

The 1997 Piston Grab: Dodging the Law Like a Drunk Driver

Rewind to the 90s, when Mahle thought it could swallow Brazilian rival Metal Leve whole without so much as a burp to U.S. regulators. For 40 million bucks, they snatched over 50 percent of the voting shares in 1996, eyeing a near-monopoly on articulated pistons for heavy-duty diesel engines – the kind that power trucks and keep economies rumbling.

But oh, they “forgot” to notify under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, breaching antitrust rules meant to prevent such power grabs.

The fallout? A record 5.6 million dollar civil penalty in 1997 – 2.8 million each from Mahle and Metal Leve – courtesy of the FTC and DOJ, who forced a divestiture of Metal Leve’s U.S. piston biz to avoid a full-blown monopoly.

At the time, it was the biggest HSR smackdown ever, outdoing even Sara Lee’s 3.1 million fine. Outrageous, isn’t it? Foreign firms like Mahle gaming the system, potentially killing U.S. innovation and jacking prices for diesel-dependent industries. It’s the kind of arrogant bullshit that exposes how these corps prioritise dominance over decency.

Lesser Evils: Patents, Fakes, and the Ongoing Grift

Mahle’s rap sheet doesn’t stop there. In the 2010s, Mahle Filtersysteme GmbH tangled in U.S. patent scraps over oil filters, settling infringement suits without admitting fault (where’ve we heard that before?) – typical corporate dodgeball.

Then there’s the counterfeit plague: Mahle’s filters get knocked off worldwide, leading to raids and seizures, but here’s the twist – they’re victims here, yet it highlights the Wild West of aftermarket parts where quality goes to die.

Their annual reports spout compliance crap like anti-slavery policies, while the antitrust stench clings.

The Cummins Connection: Partners in Ethical Rot

Now, let’s talk Cummins – the diesel engine behemoth that Mahle cosies up to as a key supplier of pistons, bearings, and other guts for a number of engines.

It’s no secret; Mahle’s components keep Cummins’ heavy-duty beasts humming.

But dig deeper, and their ethical lapses align like crooked teeth in a shark’s grin. While Mahle was busy fixing prices and dodging merger notifications, Cummins got busted in a massive emissions scandal, agreeing to a 1.675 billion dollar fine in 2023 for installing defeat devices on 600,000 Ram trucks – cheating tests, spewing pollutants, and lying to regulators.

Both outfits chase profit with reckless abandon: Mahle distorts markets through cartels, Cummins poisons the planet with deceptive tech. It’s a match made in hell, suggesting a shared culture where corners are cut, laws bent, and the public pays – higher prices from Mahle’s schemes, dirtier air from Cummins’ fraud. If they’re supplying each other, who’s watching the watchers? This symbiosis screams systemic failure in an industry that values greed over green or fair play.

In the end, Mahle’s scandals aren’t anomalies; they’re the norm in a sector bloated with hubris. They’ve paid fines, sure, but the real cost? Trust eroded, markets warped, and consumers left in the dust. Time to wake up and demand better – or we’ll all keep getting shafted.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project

Sources

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top