Major car manufacturers and two trade bodies have been hit with fines totalling £461million for accusations of "collusion" regarding the recycling of vehicles.
UK and European regulators announced the penalties following investigations into illegal agreements between the companies.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that the manufacturers had agreed not to compete against one another in certain aspects of vehicle recycling.
The collusion involved some of the world's biggest automotive companies operating in Britain and across Europe.
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The Competition and Markets Authority handed out fines worth £77million
PA
The CMA said the companies illegally agreed not to compete when advertising what percentage of their cars can be recycled.
This meant consumers had less information to make environmentally conscious choices when purchasing vehicles. Additionally, the manufacturers colluded to avoid paying third parties to recycle their customers' scrap cars.
This type of agreement limited competition in the vehicle recycling market and potentially reduced incentives for innovation in recycling practices.
The illegal arrangements affected how end-of-life vehicles were handled across the UK and Europe.
The companies involved in the collusion included BMW, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Peugeot Citroen, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault, Toyota, Vauxhall and Volkswagen.
Two trade bodies were also implicated: the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Mercedes-Benz was also party to the illegal agreements. However, the German manufacturer escaped financial penalties because it alerted the CMA to its participation in the collusion.
The CMA imposed a combined penalty of almost £78million, while the European Commission handed out fines totalling £382.7million.
Manufacturers across the continent are already concerned about potential US tariffs on their exports as part of Donald Trump's trade war.
Lucilia Falsarella Pereira, senior director of competition enforcement at the said: "Agreeing with competitors the prices you'll pay for a service or colluding to restrict competition is illegal and this can extend to how you advertise your products.
"This kind of collusion can limit consumers' ability to make informed choices and lower the incentive for companies to invest in new initiatives.
"We recognise that competing businesses may want to work together to help the environment, in those cases our door is open to help them do so."
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REUTERSCMA fines to automotive manufacturers and organisations
BMW - £11,060,925 (20 per cent settlement reduction)
Ford - £18,541,929 (20 per cent settlement reduction)
Jaguar Land Rover - £4,626,404 (20 per cent settlement reduction)
Peugeot Citroen (and owner Stellantis) - £5,189,948 (45 per cent leniency reduction and 20 per cent settlement reduction)
Mitsubishi - £898,531 (25 per cent leniency reduction and 20 per cent settlement reduction)
Nissan and Renault (formerly the same business group) - £9,979,826 (shared total) and £2,800,646 (sole liability for Nissan) (20 per cent settlement reduction)
Toyota £4,502,760 - (20 per cent settlement reduction)
Vauxhall and Opel £2,181,127 - (45 per cent leniency reduction and 20 per cent settlement reduction)
Vauxhall and Opel (and former owner General Motors) (GM is fined only as owner of both firms during part of the infringement) - £2,867,049 (45 per cent leniency reduction and 20 per cent settlement reduction)
Vauxhall and Opel (and owner Stellantis) (Stellantis is fined only as owner of both firms during part of the infringement) - £123,072 (45 per cent leniency reduction and 20 per cent settlement reduction)
Volkswagen - £14,755,900 (20 per cent settlement reduction)
ACEA - £114,000 (20 per cent settlement reduction)
SMMT - £46,800 (35 per cent leniency reduction and 20 per cent settlement reduction)
