The Korea Fair Trade Commission said on the 10th it will refer Mercedes-Benz Korea and its German headquarters to prosecutors on allegations they misled customers into thinking the cars were equipped with the world's No. 1 battery cells. It also decided to impose a 11.239 billion won penalty surcharge and a corrective order.
According to a Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) probe, Mercedes-Benz Korea produced and distributed in June 2023 guidelines containing key information, including the battery cell manufacturers used in the Mercedes EQE and EQS models, for allied dealers to use in sales. The sales guidelines given to dealers included only phrases such as "(Mercedes) chose CATL," with no mention of Parasis battery cells, making it seem as though all vehicles were equipped with China's CATL battery cells. However, four of six EQE models and one of seven EQS models were equipped with Parasis battery cells.
CATL, which Mercedes-Benz Korea emphasized in its sales guidelines, ranks No. 1 in the electric vehicle battery cell market by share. By contrast, Parasis' market share was not ranked and is estimated by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) at 1% to 2%. Vehicles equipped with Parasis battery cells were also recalled in 2021 by state-owned Beijing Automotive Group Co. (BAIC Group), which said there was "a possibility of battery fires under certain conditions."
Dealers said they did not know that Mercedes vehicles were equipped with Parasis battery cells. As a result, they informed consumers that Mercedes vehicles had CATL products. Mercedes-Benz Korea disclosed the battery cell manufacturer by model to dealers only in Aug. 2024. About 3,000 vehicles equipped with Parasis battery cells were sold during the period when dealers misunderstood the battery cell manufacturer as CATL, totaling 281 billion won in value.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) applied a charge of violating Article 45, Paragraph 1, Item 4 of the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, which bans unfair customer inducement. Under current law, up to 4% of related sales can be imposed as a penalty surcharge, and the FTC applied the maximum rate of 4%. This is the first time the maximum rate has been applied to unfair customer inducement. The FTC said it "concealed information on the electric vehicle battery cell manufacturer, which is closely related to the public's life and safety."
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) also referred the German headquarters to prosecutors, concluding it was involved in the case along with Mercedes-Benz Korea. Mercedes-Benz Korea is said to have reported key parts of the sales guidelines to the German headquarters in advance.