November 24, 2014
Continental Automotive Electronics LLC andContinental Automotive Korea Ltd. have agreed to plead guilty and pay a single criminal fine of $4M for their roles in a conspiracy to rig bids of instrument panel clusters installed in vehicles sold to Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp. and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia in the US and elsewhere. Instrument panel clusters are a set of instruments located on the dashboard of a vehicle that contain gauges such as a speedometer, tachometer, odometer, and fuel gauge, as well as warning indicators. 32 companies and 46 executives now have been charged in DOJ’s ongoing investigation into the automotive parts industry. Each of the charged companies have pleaded guilty and agreed to pay more than $2.4B in criminal fines. Of the 46 individuals, 26 have been sentenced to serve time in U.S. prisons. DOJ