At the end of November, the Regional Court Munich held an extensive expert hearing in the ongoing truck cartel proceedings, bringing together a large group of around 130 legal and economic experts. Over the course of five days, the court addressed 36 coordinated proceedings in a joint format.

During this week, the court-appointed experts outlined their economic evaluation of whether the alleged cartel behaviour influenced truck prices in Germany and, if so, to what degree. Their analysis prompted a detailed discussion on how price effects can be reliably identified and how potential damages might be estimated.

E.CA Economics supported the defence throughout this stage of the proceedings, working closely with the team at Gleiss Lutz. Our directors, Rainer Nitsche and Thomas Hildebrand, assisted Daimler with economic analysis and modelling, contributing to the examination of the economic questions raised during the hearing. We remain committed to supporting our client in a case that involves complex data, analytical challenges, and important methodological considerations.

The court will now review the material presented during the hearings, along with the written submissions that the parties will provide to further explain their positions on the experts’ assessments. Based on this, the Chamber will form its preliminary view, which will be discussed in the next stage of the proceedings next year.

We look forward to continuing our work on this matter and to supporting the next steps in the proceedings.