Tyre manufacturer Bridgestone SA will continue to co-operate with the Competition Commission, the company said on Monday.

This, after the Commission's earlier announcement that it had uncovered a cartel in the tyre manufacturing industry.

"Bridgestone SA has been granted conditional leniency for its past involvement in contraventions of the Competition Act, which conduct is now the subject of a complaint against other tyre manufacturers," the company said in a statement.

It would continue to assist the commission throughout the complaint process, it said.

It would be "inappropriate" for it to provide any further details of the complaint or the leniency at this stage "as the matter is before the Competition Tribunal for determination."

The commission said in a separate statement that it had referred a complaint of collusive tendering, price fixing, information exchange and market allocation to the Competition Tribunal.

The allegations were against the SA Tyre Manufacturers' Conference (SATMC) and tyre manufactures and suppliers Apollo Tyres SA, Goodyear SA, Continental Tyre SA and Bridgestone SA.

"The commission's investigation was prompted by a complaint alleging that the tyre manufacturers simultaneously adjusted their prices around the same time and within the same parameters," the commission said.