South Korea’s antitrust regulator has fined Mercedes-Benz $7.6 million for misleading consumers about the battery suppliers in its EQE and EQS electric vehicles.
SEOUL: South Korea’s antitrust regulator has fined Mercedes-Benz 11.2 billion won (RM35.6 million) for misleading consumers about the battery suppliers in its electric vehicles. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced the penalty on Tuesday.
The FTC stated that Mercedes-Benz distributed sales guidelines to dealers suggesting all EQE and EQS EVs were equipped with battery cells from China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL). CATL is the world’s largest battery maker, holding a 39% share of the global EV battery market in 2025.
However, some Mercedes EV models were fitted with battery cells supplied by China’s Farasis Energy. This information was omitted from the internal sales guide and concealed from dealers and consumers, according to the FTC statement.
The regulator launched an investigation after finding battery cells in a Mercedes EV involved in an August 2024 fire in Incheon were made by Farasis. Farasis Energy did not rank among the world’s top 10 battery suppliers last year, according to industry tracker SNE Research.
Approximately 3,000 vehicles containing Farasis battery cells were sold between June 2023 and August 2024. Total sales for these vehicles amounted to roughly 281 billion won.
The 11.2 billion won fine is equivalent to about 4% of the related sales. An FTC official said this was the maximum penalty allowed under the law for such unfair practices.
Mercedes’ German headquarters and its Korean unit will jointly pay the fine. The regulator also said it would refer both entities to prosecutors for their direct or indirect involvement in creating and distributing the misleading sales guidelines.