Brussels, 29/07/2004 (Agence Europe) - The Commission has presented a report which notes increased convergence in new car prices on European markets. Between May 2003 and May 2004, prices before tax in the euro zone were lowest in Finland, where they were, on average, 10% lower than those in Germany, the most expensive country. In the EU of 25, prices are globally lower than in the new Member States, but they "do not differ much from those in force in the EU of 15", said Mario Monti. The Competition Commissioner believes that "in this result, and in the slight downwards trend in prices on the biggest markets of the EU of 15, signs that competition is gaining a foothold in this sector".
The average gap in new car prices from one national market to another has fallen within the euro zone, from 4.9% in 2003 to 4.4% on 1 May 2004. The prices of 90 models of car were assessed, and the results showed that for 25 of these models, price differences were sometimes greater than 20% (31 models in 2003). Taking the new Member States into account for the first time, the study noted a gap of over 20% for 72 models out of 90. Poland is the cheapest country of the EU of 25 (9% lower than prices in Finland), except in the luxury car sector, for which the euro zone remained the cheapest. Cars are not, however, cheaper in all the new Member States. In Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, prices are similar to those of countries of the euro zone, where they are the lowest. With an increase of 0.8% in the euro zone from May 2003 to May 2004, car prices increased more slowly than inflation (2.4%). More globally, prices increased in Poland (+8.7%), Latvia (+8.9%), Denmark (+2.5%), the Netherlands and Germany (+1.7%), but fell in Estonia (-5.8%), Lithuania (-5.4%), Finland (-2.9%), and Italy (-1.1%).