The latest Credit Suisse First Boston New Car Price Index shows that average pre tax car prices in the UK are now 21% higher than the European average compared to 42% higher in August 2000.
The index, based on prices on 15 January 2001, tracks the prices of over 2000 models across 19 European countries based on data supplied by JATO Dynamics.
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| European Base Price Index January 2001 | Change From Last Month | ||
| 1 | Greece | 84 | – |
| 2 | Spain | 92 | +2 |
| 3 | The Netherlands | 93 | -1 |
| 4 | Portugal | 95 | -1 |
| 5 | Italy | 98 | – |
| 6 | France | 99 | – |
| 7 | Belgium | 99 | – |
| 8 | Sweden | 100 | -4 |
| 9 | Austria | 104 | – |
| 10 | Germany | 107 | – |
| 11 | Switzerland | 119 | -3 |
| 12 | Great Britain | 121 | -8 |
| AVERAGES: | * | ||
| euro Countries | 100 | – | |
| Western Europe | 103 | -2 | |
Index 100 Represents Average Pre Tax Price for euro currency countries ** Includes Specification changes, excludes Currency Changes | |||
Although the UK still has the highest average pre tax prices for the countries included in the index, the gap has reduced significantly with Switzerland the next highest at 19% above the European average.
Greece continues to have the lowest prices at 16% below the EU average. The only other country to show a significant drop is Sweden where relative prices have reduced by 12% in 6 months, largely due to currency movements.
Commenting on the index, Rick Yarrow from eurocarprice.com, said: “The substantial drop in UK prices relative to Europe is due not only to the price reductions by most manufacturers, but also the recent strengthening of the euro currency.
“The highly competitive nature of the European market is making it difficult for manufacturers to increase prices.
“We estimate that prices have increased by an average of 1.3% in Europe over the last 12 months, but when taking into account increases in specifications and currency movements, the real increase is only 0.4%.”
