# C_2017287EN.01000701.xml

| 31.8.2017 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 287/7 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

31.8.2017

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 287/7

---

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case M.8591 — VW Credit/Daimler/AutoGravity)

Candidate case for simplified procedure

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2017/C 287/05)

| 1. | On 24 August 2017, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which the undertakings Daimler AG (‘Daimler’, Germany) and VW Credit, Inc. (‘VCI’, United States) belonging to the group Volkswagen AG (‘Volkswagen’, Germany) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and Article 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the undertaking AutoGravity Corporation (‘AutoGravity’, United States) by way of a purchase of shares. |
| --- | --- |

1.

On 24 August 2017, the Commission received notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which the undertakings Daimler AG (‘Daimler’, Germany) and VW Credit, Inc. (‘VCI’, United States) belonging to the group Volkswagen AG (‘Volkswagen’, Germany) acquire within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) and Article 3(4) of the Merger Regulation joint control of the undertaking AutoGravity Corporation (‘AutoGravity’, United States) by way of a purchase of shares.

1

| 2. | The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:
  —   for Daimler: the manufacture and distribution of passenger cars and commercial vehicles, and also the provision of financial services, including financing, leasing, insurance and fleet management services,
  —   for VCI: serving Volkswagen’s retail customers and dealers in the United States, offering financial products and services including retail leasing and financing for new and used vehicles,
  —   for AutoGravity: the provision to consumers in the United States of a comparison app for vehicle financing and leasing, accessible via smartphone or via AutoGravity’s website. |
| --- | --- |

2.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

—   for Daimler: the manufacture and distribution of passenger cars and commercial vehicles, and also the provision of financial services, including financing, leasing, insurance and fleet management services,

for Daimler

—   for VCI: serving Volkswagen’s retail customers and dealers in the United States, offering financial products and services including retail leasing and financing for new and used vehicles,

for VCI

—   for AutoGravity: the provision to consumers in the United States of a comparison app for vehicle financing and leasing, accessible via smartphone or via AutoGravity’s website.

for AutoGravity

| 3. | On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved. Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in this Notice. |
| --- | --- |

3.

On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved. Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in this Notice.

2

| 4. | The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.
  Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax (+32 22964301), by email to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference M.8591 — VW Credit/Daimler/AutoGravity, to the following address:





  European Commission |
| --- | --- |
| Directorate-General for Competition |
| Merger Registry |
| 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel |
| BELGIQUE/BELGIË |

4.

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax (+32 22964301), by email to COMP-MERGER-REGISTRY@ec.europa.eu or by post, under reference M.8591 — VW Credit/Daimler/AutoGravity, to the following address:

European Commission

Directorate-General for Competition

Merger Registry

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

---

(1)  OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).

1

(2)  OJ C 366, 14.12.2013, p. 5.

2

---