A Madrid court has revived 31 lawsuits against the car cartel, letting buyers who never joined a group case pursue their own claims. This ruling could change how cartel damages are fought in Spain.
Buyers who thought their fight with the car cartel was over just got another chance. Sección 32 of the Audiencia Provincial de Madrid has ordered 31 individual lawsuits to move forward. These cases had been put on hold because the buyers’ cars were listed in a group lawsuit—even though none of them had ever joined that collective case.
The court’s Auto 43/2026, dated 17 September, rejects the idea that being named in a group action’s annex is enough to block a personal lawsuit. The buyers want a 10.05% surcharge back on the price they paid for their cars, which adds up to €97,105.19. Their cases were thrown out by the Juzgado de lo Mercantil nº 19 because their vehicles were among 442,258 listed in a collective action at another court. But these buyers never agreed to join that group or got any notice as parties.
In a related 2026 case, Helle Auto sought €7.5 million in compensation for 4,387 vehicles purchased between 2006 and 2013, alleging a cartel overcharge of 10.11%.
This legal roadblock was based on litispendencia, a rule that stops duplicate lawsuits when the same parties and issues are involved. But Sección 32 has now said clearly: just being listed in a group action’s paperwork does not make someone a party to that case, and it does not tie them to the result. The court based its decision on Supreme Court rulings and pointed to Directive (EU) 2020/1828, which says only people who choose to join a group case are bound by its outcome. Spain has not yet put this directive into law.
Renault España Comercial, S.A., the defendant, now faces the reopened lawsuits and must pay the costs of the appeal. The ruling is final. There is no further appeal. The court did not look at whether the cartel overcharge happened. It only decided that buyers have the right to bring their own claims.
According to El Confidencial, the list of defendants in recent Spanish car cartel litigation includes major automakers such as Stellantis, Ford, Toyota, Renault, Fiat, Kia, Seat, and Hyundai, all previously sanctioned by the CNMC. The ongoing wave of antitrust cases has prompted Spanish courts to clarify the limits of joint liability and the procedural rules for cartel damages claims.
For these 31 buyers, the money at stake is real. Each could get back just over €3,100, plus interest. But the impact goes further. The court has ended the routine practice of rejecting individual claims just because a buyer’s car was listed in a group case. Now, unless a buyer has actually joined a collective lawsuit, they can still bring their own claim.
The ruling also shows a gap in the law. Spain still has not fully adopted Directive (EU) 2020/1828, which would set clear rules for group lawsuits and make sure only those who opt in are bound by the result. Until lawmakers act, regular courts have to decide where the line is between group and individual actions. This patchwork leaves legal certainty up in the air.
This decision sets a new rule for cartel cases across Spain. Courts must now check, case by case, if buyers really agreed to be part of a group action before blocking their individual lawsuits. For claimants and their lawyers, the message is simple: being listed in paperwork does not close the door to your own case. This change gives buyers more control and warns car companies that they cannot hide behind procedure. For now, Spanish courts are putting the rights of individuals ahead of administrative shortcuts. This could shape consumer lawsuits until the law finally changes.
