Merger of Car Dealers in České Budějovice Approved Subject to Conditions Consisting of KIA Car Service Centre Divesture
CB Auto operates primarily in the retail sale of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles of the Škoda, Volkswagen, Seat, Cupra, Mazda, and KIA brands, as well as their authorized servicing and related sales of spare parts and accessories, and the sale of used vehicles.
AUTO FUTURE is active in the retail sale of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles of the KIA, Fiat, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Dodge, and Ram brands, their authorized servicing and the related sale of spare parts and accessories, as well as the sale of used vehicles.
The concentration was originally notified under the simplified procedure; however, the Office requested additional information and subsequently reviewed the transaction in the standard procedure. After the preliminary assessment of the case, the Office detected serious concerns about a significant distortion of competition that could be caused by the concentration in question as the undertaking resulting from the merger would have a strong market power in the market for servicing KIA passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in the South Bohemian Region. In response, the party to the proceedings proposed commitments, which the Office recognized as sufficient to maintain effective competition in the relevant market.
The commitments consist, among other things, in CB Auto having to sell, within a period set by the Office, part of the business of AUTO FUTURE, which provides authorized servicing of KIA passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. The party to the proceedings shall transfer the car service in question to an entity that will not be connected to it in any way in terms of ownership, finance, or personnel. Further details will be provided in the public version of the decision, which will be available in the collection of the Office´s decisions after the removal of confidential information.
As sufficient commitments were proposed, the decision on the merger was issued in the so-called first phase of the proceedings.
Press Unit of the Office for the Protection of Competition
25/180 – S0485/2025
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