Car Prices Fell 10% In Romania In 2009 – EC Report

The analysis shows the price reduction owes much to the incentives to buy new cars put in place in many countries to mitigate the impact of the economic recession.

Prices fell in 2009 in 24 of the 27 EU member states, remained stable in the Netherlands and rose in the United Kingdom (7.7%) and Sweden (2.7%).

„Among the large markets, real prices decreased most notably in Spain (-4.7%), while Italy, Germany and France experienced more moderate price reductions (-1.1%, -1.0% and -0.6% respectively),” says the report.

„Broadly, the fall of real car prices across the EU confirms once more the favorable long-term price trend for consumers, which arises from global production overcapacity and intense competition between car manufacturers,” says the report, although it warns that „prices for repair and maintenance services as well as spare parts continued to rise well above inflation, confirming the need for the stricter competition rules in place for the sector since the 1st of June.”

Prices for repair, maintenance services and spare parts rose in the EU last year by an average 0.7%.