Two significant first-instance rulings on compensation claims arising from the truck cartel were issued on 21 October 2026 by the Landgericht München I (Munich I Regional Court). The cases were brought by two construction companies that purchased trucks from several manufacturers, including MAN and Daimler, between 1997 and 2009. The judges quantified the overcharges on the vehicles purchased: 3.7% for heavy trucks and 4.2% for medium-duty trucks supplied by Daimler, compared with 5% for heavy trucks and 1% for medium-duty trucks supplied by MAN. A claim involving a truck purchased in 1997 was dismissed because the court considered it unlikely that the vehicle had been affected by the cartel.
The estimates were based largely on expert reports by two economists who, since 2019, have been using regression analysis in numerous proceedings pending in Munich to establish whether the manufacturers' price-fixing arrangements had increased truck prices and, if so, by how much. The parties raised numerous objections to the original reports and subsequent supplementary findings. These were examined during a joint hearing held from 24 to 28 November 2025, covering 36 proceedings with a combined value of approximately €500 million. After reviewing the objections and the expert evidence submitted by the parties, the court concluded that the model developed by the court-appointed experts provided an appropriate basis for assessing damages. The German rulings could set an important precedent for several compensation claims currently being pursued in Italy. On 11 January 2026, the Milan court had already awarded damages at first instance based on an 8% overcharge on the purchase price of 141 medium-duty and heavy trucks bought during the cartel period.
The litigation stems from decisions in which the European Commission imposed fines on MAN, Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco and DAF on 19 July 2016, followed by Scania on 27 September 2017. The infringement involved the coordination of gross list prices for medium-duty and heavy trucks across the European Economic Area between 1997 and 2011. The fines imposed in the 2016 proceedings totalled approximately €2.93 billion, including just over €1 billion for Daimler. MAN received immunity after reporting the cartel to the Commission, avoiding a fine of approximately €1.2 billion. However, that immunity applied only to the fine and did not protect the company from compensation claims brought by truck buyers.
