A class-action lawsuit against a major car shipping cartel has secured £54m (€61.7m) (105 in final settlements from the two remaining defendants, bringing the total settlement to over £92m (€105m.1).

Millions of UK consumers and businesses who purchased or leased affected vehicles will be entitled to receive compensation once the settlement receives court approval

Class representative Mark McLaren and Scott+Scott UK LLP, the law firm advising the class representative, achieved the final settlements from the two remaining defendants in the Car Delivery Charges legal action.

These are the fourth and fifth settlements to be agreed in the claim and the landmark lawsuit has now secured £92.75m on behalf of millions of UK consumers and businesses for price fixing among car and van shipping companies, which led to higher shipping fees for new purchased or leased vehicles.

The latest settlement comes on the back of a nine-week trial against MOL and NYK which started in January 2025.

These follow earlier settlements with “K” Line (£12.7m) and WWL/EUKOR (£24.5m), reached in January 2025, and CSAV (£1.5m), reached in December 2023.

The settlements, which are now awaiting approval by the Competition Appeal Tribunal, will result in “substantial damages” for the class which consists of UK car purchasers.

Millions of UK consumers and businesses who purchased or leased affected vehicles will be entitled to receive compensation once the settlement receives court approval.

Once the settlements are distributed, this will be the first distribution in the ‘opt-out’ regime where businesses and drivers will recover losses suffered as a result of anti-competitive behaviour.

The groundbreaking class action was first announced in 2020 and given the green light to go ahead in February 2022 when the Competition Appeal Tribunal, London’s specialist competition court, approved the claim against the five shipping companies that imported vehicles into Europe.

It was one of the first opt-out proceedings certified by the CAT on behalf of consumers and the first on behalf of businesses and meant that, if successful, any UK motorist or business who bought or leased affected new cars or vans between October 2006 and September 2015 would automatically be entitled to compensation, without having to opt-in.

The claim centred around artificially inflated shipping fees for 17 million new cars and vans to the UK from a variety of major European brands, including Ford, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Peugeot, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, Citroen and Renault. The automakers themselves were not involved.

The European Commission (EC) had already found that the maritime car carriers fixed prices, rigged bids and allocated the market for roll-on, roll-off (‘RoRo’) transport.

The action against some of the world’s leading shipping companies was brought by consumer champion and class representative Mark Mclaren, who set up a special purpose company and was represented by the London office of international law firm Scott+Scott and barristers from Brick Court chambers, funded by Woodsford. The action was originally valued at £150m – or up to £60 per vehicle.

McLaren said: “Since I launched this case five years ago, I was confident that this claim would result in significant damages being awarded to UK consumers and businesses. I am pleased that this historic settlement agreement not only resolves wrongful anti-competitive, cartelist actions, but also allows for class members to finally be compensated for their financial losses. This outcome also shows how the UK’s opt-out regime is working exactly as intended, giving both consumers and businesses an effective and fair route to recover monies owed as a result of cartel behaviour that they could never pursue on their own.”

Cian Mansfield, managing partner of Scott+Scott UK LLP, said the settlement marked a “significant milestone” for UK consumers and businesses and guarantees “significant compensation”.

“This case is groundbreaking as it is the first time damages will be distributed to UK businesses under the opt-out regime. We are delighted that five years of hard work on behalf of the class has paid off,” he stated.

Charlie Morris, chief investment officer of Woodsford, said: “Woodsford is proud to have funded Mark McLaren in holding these cartelists to account for their anti-competitive misconduct. At a time when the Department for Business and Trade is carrying out a review of the collective action regime, this action is the paradigm example of why the regime is so important. It has allowed thousands of UK consumers and businesses to access justice and receive meaningful compensation when they might not otherwise have been able to do so. Particularly given that a significant proportion of these settlements is guaranteed to be paid to consumers, businesses and/or charity, this action can and should be recognised as a real success story.”

The settlement hearing at the Competition Appeal Tribunal has been set for 15 January 2026 with a half day in reserve on 16 January.

Consumers and businesses who wish to receive updates about the settlement and distribution and to find out if they are entitled to receive damages should register here.