The European Commission published a report in which shows a remarkable fall of 2.5% in real terms and thus, price differentials for new cars in EU narrowing in 2010. According the Commission, the fall in real car prices across the EU continues a trend observed for more than a decade, which indicates that competition between car manufacturers on the market for new cars is working.

The European Commission's latest car price report shows that car prices fell by 2.5% in real terms in 2010 in the European Union as a whole. These long-term price trends support the Commission's decision last year that specific competition rules for the sale of new cars are no longer justified. The report shows the Commission's monitoring of the motor vehicle sector. It outlines the list prices of 89 best-selling car models representing 26 brands throughout the EU. The report enables consumers to compare car prices across Europe and take advantage of the opportunities of the EU's Single Market.

In particular, the report that the EU price index for cars (reflecting nominal prices paid by consumers, including rebates, VAT and registration taxes) increased by only 0.3%, against a 2.8% rise in overall consumer prices, translating into a remarkable fall in real car prices by 2.5%. However, the differences remain big in some cases pointing to large savings for consumers shopping across borders. A total of 24 EU countries recorded a fall in real car prices. Prices were stable in another two countries (+0.2% in both Italy and Malta) while they increased in Portugal (+2.6%). In the latter case, it should be noted that buyers benefited from a greater-than-average fall in real car prices the previous year (-6.7%).

The main objective of the new competition law framework for the car sector, which entered into force in June 2010, is to ensure more and better competition in the after sales markets, i.e. repairs and maintenance which represent a significant part of the costs of owning a car over its lifetime.