The European Union fined Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. on Wednesday a total of around €137.8 million (¥18.05 billion)after finding that the two Japanese firms had participated in a cartel over the sale of auto parts.

Denso Corp. was also part of the action that coordinated prices in Europe between 2004 and 2010, but it escaped a fine after blowing the whistle.

Both Mitsubishi and Hitachi have acknowledged their involvement and agreed to settle the case, the European Commission said.

The collusion "affected component costs for a number of car manufacturers selling cars in Europe, and ultimately European consumers buying them," Margrethe Vestager, EU commissioner in charge of competition policy, said in a statement.

Mitsubishi was fined €110.92 million (¥14.6 billion) and Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd., a Hitachi group firm, €26.86 million (¥3.45 billion).