By its Decision no 806/2023 adopted, in plenary, on 18 January 2023, the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC) unanimously approved, under the Greek merger control rules (article 8(3) L. 3959/2011), the proposed acquisition by the companies “AUTOHELLAS TOURIST AND TRADING S.A.” and “SAMELET MOTORS LTD” of joint control over the entire share capital of the company “FCA GREECE S.A.”, as the notified concentration, although falling within the scope of article 6(1) of the Greek Law 3959/2011, does not raise serious doubts as to its compatibility with competition rules in the individual markets concerned.

The above concentration will bring about a change in the control of FCA GREECE S.A., as AUTOHELLAS and SAMELET will acquire joint control over the target company.

AUTOHELLAS is a company listed on the Athens Stock Exchange, mainly active in short and long-term vehicle leasing, vehicle fleet management and import and wholesale distribution of motor vehicles under the brands of SEAT, HYUNDAI and KIA, as well as in the import and wholesale distribution of the respective (original) spare parts. SAMELET is a limited liability company based in Israel and active in the automotive industry, through the import and wholesaling of motor vehicles under the brands of FIAT, ALFA ROMEO, JEEP, SUBARU, RAM, IVECO, WEY, HONG-QI, MASERATI and FERRARI. FCA GREECE is a société anonyme, established in 1962 and mainly active in the import and wholesale distribution of motor vehicles under the brands of FIAT, ALFA ROMEO, ABARTH and JEEP, as well as in the import and wholesale distribution of the respective (original) spare parts.

The concentration concerns, in general, the motor vehicle sector in Greece (import, Wholesaling and retailing of new passenger and light commercial vehicles, import and wholesale distribution of spare parts, vehicle leasing, retailing of spare parts and provision of repair and maintenance services).

The relevant geographical market is defined as the whole of the Greek territory,

The concentration will bring about changes in the structure of one of the above relevant markets, as it leads to a rearrangement of competitors’ positions in the import and wholesale market of new passenger vehicles. However, according to the HCC, it is not expected to significantly affect the level of competition in the relevant market concerned, as the merging parties' market shares are not particularly high, and sufficient competitive pressure is exerted by strong players in the same market as well as by second-hand car importers/distributors.

In this regard, the vertical markets for vehicle retailing, spare parts retailing and repair and maintenance services, as well as for vehicle leasing constitute markets of the concentration, however without any significant anti-competitive effects resulting therein.