Daimler, Paccar and two other truck firms were fined a record €2.9 billion by EU antitrust regulators yesterday for taking part in a 14-year cartel.

The European Commission said the companies fixed prices and coordinated on the timing of introducing new emission technologies in 1997 and on passing on costs of those new technologies. Its overall fine was more than double the previous record for a group operating a cartel in the EU.

Daimler received the biggest fine at €1.01 billion while Volkswagen-owned MAN escaped a penalty because it had alerted the cartel to the European Commission.

“It is not acceptable that MAN, Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco and DAF, which together account for around nine out of every 10 medium and heavy trucks produced in Europe, were part of a cartel instead of competing with each other,” European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

Volvo, Sweden’s biggest company by revenue, received a €670.45 million fine and Iveco, which is part of Italian truck and tractor maker CNH Industrial, was fined €494.61 million.

DAF Trucks, owned by Paccar, was handed a penalty €752.68 million. The four companies admitted wrongdoing in return for a 10 per cent cut in the penalties imposed. Scania did not settle and will continue to be investigated.

The highest fine prior to the truck-makers’ sanction was €1.4 billion levied against a TV and computer monitor tubes cartel in 2012.

Campaign group Transport and Environment’s director William Todts said regulators should do more to improve the environment.

“Truck-makers have to change but so do regulators; they need to create competition on environmental performance. Introducing fuel economy standards is one key way of doing that,” he said.

Truck-makers have invested heavily in recent years to make their engines compliant with so-called Euro VI standards, which focus on reducing health-threatening nitrogen oxides.

The Commission has introduced more stringent regulation to curb pollution of health-threatening nitrogen oxides and introduced it in stages. So-called Euro 1 standards were unveiled in 1993 and since the start of 2014 any new vehicle must comply with Euro VI standards.

The more stringent emissions standards have forced truck-makers to invest in expensive technologies such as exhaust treatment filters.

The top 10 EU cartel fines since 1969

Here are the 10 highest cartel fines levied by the European Commission since 1969, including yesterday's sanction:

Truckmakers – €2.93 billion (2016)

TV and computer monitor tubes – €1.41 billion (2012)

Carglass – €1.19 billion (2008)

Automotive bearings – €953 million (2014)

Elevators and escalators – €832 million (2007)

Euro interest rate derivatives – €825 million (2013)

Vitamins – €791 million (2001)

Yen interest rate derivatives – €685 million (2013/2015)

Gas insulated switchgear – €675 million (2007/2012)

E.ON/GDF collusion – €640 million (2009)

Source: European Commission