AutoSmart GuidebooksWhat this guidebook covers
Dealers meet rivals at OEM dealer councils, trade associations and local events, and share staff who move between groups. In April 2025 the CMA fined 10 car manufacturers and 2 trade bodies £77.7 million. Fines are based on the whole group's worldwide turnover, and individuals in a cartel face up to 5 years in prison.
This guidebook covers 6 competition standards with 17 checkpoints: no price-fixing, no market or customer sharing, no bid rigging, freedom to set your own prices, safe trade association meetings, and compliance training with a dawn raid plan.
The 6 competition standards
Open a standard to see the law behind it, what is checked, what it can cost and the evidence. Ideal fix times are counted from audit submission.
CMP-01No price-fixing between dealersImmediate
- The law
- Competition Act 1998 (Chapter I & II) · Enterprise Act 2002 · CA98 Chapter I (s.2) anti-competitive agreements · EA02 s.188 cartel offence
- What we check
- Dealers never agree or coordinate with competitors on car prices, discounts, part-exchange values, admin fees, service labour rates or finance margins, formally or informally.
- What it can cost
- A cartel is the most serious breach: 10% of turnover, up to 5 years in prison and director bans.
- Evidence
- Training record + contact log
CMP-02No market or customer sharingImmediate
- The law
- Competition Act 1998 (Chapter I & II) · Enterprise Act 2002 · CA98 Chapter I market sharing and customer allocation
- What we check
- Dealers never agree with competitors to stay out of each other's areas, split fleet or trade customers, or avoid each other's customers.
- What it can cost
- Market sharing is a cartel: 10% of turnover, prison risk and director disqualification.
- Evidence
- Manufacturer agreement + bid log
CMP-03No bid riggingImmediate
- The law
- Competition Act 1998 (Chapter I & II) · Enterprise Act 2002 · CA98 Chapter I bid rigging · EA02 s.188 cartel offence
- What we check
- Bids for fleet, public-sector and leasing tenders are prepared independently, with no cover pricing, bid rotation or information swapping with other bidders.
- What it can cost
- Bid rigging is criminal: up to 5 years in prison, plus exclusion from public contracts.
- Evidence
- Tender files
CMP-04Free to set your own prices30 days
- The law
- Competition Act 1998 (Chapter I & II) · Enterprise Act 2002 · CA98 Chapter I resale price maintenance · Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Order 2022
- What we check
- Where the dealer sells as a reseller, it decides its own retail prices. Manufacturer "recommended" prices aren't enforced by threats or penalties. Genuine agency sales follow the agency contract.
- What it can cost
- RPM infringements are fined at up to 10% of turnover, for both manufacturer and dealer.
- Evidence
- OEM correspondence
CMP-05Safe trade association meetings30 days
- The law
- Competition Act 1998 (Chapter I & II) · Enterprise Act 2002 · CA98 Chapter I decisions by associations and information exchange
- What we check
- At dealer councils, trade associations and OEM dealer meetings, no one discusses future prices, margins, stock plans or wage rates, and agendas and minutes are kept.
- What it can cost
- Associations and their members can both be fined up to 10% of turnover.
- Evidence
- Minutes + briefing note
CMP-06Compliance training and dawn raid plan30 days
- The law
- Competition Act 1998 (Chapter I & II) · Enterprise Act 2002 · CA98 ss.27–28 CMA powers of entry and inspection · obstruction offences
- What we check
- Managers are trained on competition law, there's a dawn-raid procedure (who to call, don't obstruct, don't delete), and documents aren't destroyed.
- What it can cost
- Obstruction can bring a fine of up to 1% of turnover and criminal charges for individuals, on top of the main case.
- Evidence
- Training + procedure
How to run a UK competition law compliance audit, step by step
- Confirm what applies. Identify contact with rivals (dealer councils, associations, chat groups) and the fleet tenders you bid for. Genuine agency arrangements with manufacturers are treated differently: take legal advice on your OEM contracts.
- Walk the site, standard by standard. Score each of the 17 checkpoints Pass, Fail or N/A. N/A only where the standard rules it out, with the reason recorded. Review fleet tender files and pricing decisions, and check meeting agendas and minutes from trade association meetings.
- Capture the evidence. A pass counts only with proof captured at the time of the audit: tender files, pricing approvals, meeting minutes, training records and the dawn raid plan.
- Give every fail an owner and a fix time. Record what you saw and who owns the fix. Each standard carries an ideal fix time, from immediate to 30 days, counted from audit submission (see the table above).
- Fix it, then prove it. The site fixes the cause and uploads proof of closure; the auditor checks the proof before closing the finding.
- Re-check at the next audit. Confirm closed findings stay closed, and look for the same fail at your other sites so one gap doesn't repeat across the network.
Who this guidebook is for
- Dealer principals and directors
- Sales and fleet managers
- Auditors
A reference document, not legal advice. Fines and rules change: check the current text with the regulator or your legal adviser before acting.
