South said on Tuesday (Mar 10) it has fined Mercedes-Benz 11.2 billion won for misrepresenting the battery suppliers in its electric vehicles.
据报道，周二（3月10日），反垄断监管机构韩国公平交易委员会（以下简称KFTC）表示，因在电动汽车电池供应商信息上未如实陈述，已对梅赛德斯-奔驰公司处以112亿韩元（折合约5600万元）的罚款。
The Korea Fair Trade Commission said Mercedes-Benz promoted its EQE and EQS models as using premium cells from CATL, the world’s largest EV battery maker, while concealing that some vehicles instead carried Farasis Energy batteries - information absent from dealer guides and marketing material.
KFTC指出，在宣传其EQE和EQS车型时，梅赛德斯-奔驰声称其使用的是全球最大的电动汽车电池制造商宁德时代生产的优质电芯，不过实际上部分车辆使用的是孚能科技的电池，而经销商指南和营销材料中均未提及这一信息。
CATL held a 39 per cent share of the global EV battery market in 2025, while Farasis Energy did not rank among the world's top 10 battery suppliers, according to industry tracker SNE Research.
行业追踪机构SNE Research的数据显示，2025年宁德时代在全球电动汽车电池市场占有39%的份额，而孚能科技并不在全球前十大电池供应商之列。
"We respect the decision made at the plenary session at KFTC; however, we firmly disagree with the Commission's final decision," Mercedes-Benz Korea said in a statement.
梅赛德斯-奔驰韩国公司在一份声明中表示，"我们尊重KFTC全体会议的决定，不过我们坚决不同意委员会的最终裁决。"
The company added that it would "take necessary legal measures, including an administrative lawsuit," and said it had "accurately conveyed true and correct information to both the media and our customers."
梅赛德斯-奔驰韩国公司称，将"采取包括提起行政诉讼在内必要的法律措施 "。此外，该公司还表示，已"向媒体和客户准确传达了真实准确的信息。"
The FTC said it launched an investigation after it found battery cells in a Mercedes EV involved in an August 2024 fire at an underground parking lot in Incheon were made by Farasis.
KFTC表示，在2024年8月仁川地下停车场发生的一起梅赛德斯电动汽车起火事故中，发现涉事电池由孚能科技公司生产，因此展开了调查。
About 3,000 vehicles containing Farasis battery cells were sold between June 2023 and August 2024, with total sales amounting to roughly 281 billion won, the FTC said.
该机构称，在2023年6月至2024年8月期间，约有3000辆装有孚能电池的汽车售出，总销售额约为2810亿韩元。
The regulator's 11.2 billion won fine, equivalent to about 4 per cent of the related sales, was the maximum penalty allowed under the law for such unfair practices, it said.
KFTC表示，112亿韩元的罚款约为相关销售额的4%，是法律对此类不公平行为允许的最高处罚额度。
An FTC official said Mercedes' German headquarters and its Korean unit would jointly pay the fine.
KFTC的一位官员表示，梅赛德斯德国总部及其韩国分公司将共同支付罚款。
The regulator said it would also refer both Mercedes headquarters in Germany and the Korean unit to prosecutors, saying the two were involved directly or indirectly in creating and distributing the sales guidelines.
KFTC还表示，将把奔驰德国总部和韩国子公司一并移送检方，称两者直接或者间接参与了销售指南的制定和分发。
