VOLKSWAGEN is to appeal against the 102m ecu (c£67 million) fine imposed by the European Commission for the anti-competitive sales practices of its Italian dealers. The fine was the highest ever imposed on a single company, and stemmed from evidence unearthed by the EC that VW had threatened to withdraw franchises from Italian dealers selling cars to customers from outside the country.

Speaking at the Geneva Motor Show, Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech, said: 'For good reasons we have banned sales of cars to non-authorised, commercial resellers. These are the so-called grey importers - and this is in perfect agreement with current EU legislation.'

The UK Government is currently discussing with the Commission the implications of the VW case for UK customers wishing to buy right-hand-drive cars at the lowest possible cost, and the EC is undertaking studies of price differentials across EU markets.