2000
Despite a significant reduction in UK new car prices, the latest
EU car pricing survey once again shows that varying taxation systems throughout
Europe is a primary cause of new car price differences.
The report, which looks at pre-tax prices rather than the price
paid by consumers at the showroom, shows that UK prices have dropped by more
than 10 per cent since the last research in June 2000. But pre-tax prices are
still reported to be higher in the UK than in mainland Europe.
The European Commission findings mirror those of the recent
Credit Suisse report for Eurocarprice.com. Credit Suisse concluded that ‘whilst
the average man in the street may see the manufacturers as guilty of exploiting
the consumer, the real key to harmonising prices could prove to be fiscal changes
that would make it much easier for manufacturers to address this highly complex
issue.’
SMMT Chief Executive Christopher Macgowan said ‘The motor industry
is actively seeking price harmonisation across the European Union but although
prices are falling in the UK, widely varying taxation systems and the high rate
or sterling continue to thwart our goal.’
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