By its decision, the Commission had fined Volkswagen for systematically forcing its authorised dealers in Italy to refuse to sell Volkswagen and Audi cars to foreign buyers. In 1995, the Commission had received a large number of complaints from consumers who had had difficulty buying new cars in Italy. In its decision, the Commission found that Volkswagen, Audi and Volkswagen's Italian subsidiary Autogerma had devised, in concert with their Italian dealers, a strategy aimed at preventing, or at least substantially restricting, sales from Italy to other Member States, especially Germany and Austria.
Dans sa décision, la Commission a constaté que Volkswagen, sa filiale italienne Autogerma, et Audi avaient mis au point avec leurs concessionnaires italiens une stratégie visant à empêcher, ou du moins à limiter substantiellement les ventes en provenance d'Italie vers d'autres États membres, en particulier l'Allemagne et l'Autriche.
