By Norihiko Shirouzu
BEIJING, Sept 16 (Reuters) - China's price regulator has summoned executives from Toyota Motor Corp over pricing policies and practices at the Japanese carmaker's luxury Lexus brand, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
According to three China-based Toyota executives, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) earlier this month summoned Beijing-based executives at Lexus for questioning.
Two of the executives, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject, said the NDRC questioned the Lexus leaders about the brand's spare and replacement parts policies, including pricing.
Takanori Yokoi, a Beijing-based Toyota spokesman, declined to comment on the information provided by the sources, but said Toyota would cooperate with Chinese authorities if there was an investigation into anti-competitive matters.
Officials at the NDRC could not be reached for comment.
Last week, Hubei province's price bureau said it would fine the sales unit of Volkswagen's joint venture FAW-Volkswagen Automobile Co Ltd 249 million yuan ($40.6 million) for fixing Audi prices.
NDRC's Shanghai branch also said last week it would fine the China sales unit of Fiat's Chrysler 32 million yuan for operating a price monopoly.
Those penalties have raised the possibility of similar fines being levied against other global players such as Daimler's < Mercedes-Benz and Tata Motors Ltd's Jaguar Land Rover, which are being probed for possible anti-competitive behaviour. (Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu; Editing by Kazunori Takada and Edwina Gibbs)