Mercedes to pay $7.6 million fine in South Korea over EV battery information

South Korea’s antitrust regulator said on Tuesday it has fined Mercedes-Benz 11.2 billion won ($7.61 million) for misleading consumers about the battery suppliers used in some of its electric vehicles. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Mercedes-Benz circulated sales guidelines to dealers stating that all EQE and EQS EVs were equipped with battery cells from China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL), the world’s largest battery maker.However, some models were fitted with battery cells supplied by China’s Farasis Energy, a detail that was not included in the internal sales guide and was not disclosed to dealers or consumers, the FTC said in a statement. CATL held a 39% share of the global EV battery market in 2025, while Farasis Energy was not among the world’s top 10 battery suppliers, according to industry tracker SNE Research. The FTC began its investigation after it found that battery cells in a Mercedes EV involved in an August 2024 fire at an underground parking facility in Incheon were made by Farasis.About 3,000 vehicles fitted with Farasis battery cells were sold between June 2023 and August 2024, generating total sales of around 281 billion won, the regulator said. The FTC said the 11.2 billion won penalty, about 4% of the related sales, was the maximum fine allowed under the law for such unfair practices. An FTC official said Mercedes’ German headquarters and its Korean unit would jointly pay the fine. The regulator also said it would refer both Mercedes headquarters in Germany and the Korean unit to prosecutors, stating that they were directly or indirectly involved in preparing and distributing the sales guidelines.