including the Consumers’
Association, this was a case where government intervention into the operation of
markets was wholly justified. Published in the early part of 2000, the Competition Commission’s report upheld the
view that UK private motorists were on average paying around 10 per cent more for
their vehicles than their counterparts in countries such as France, Germany and Italy.
According to the Director General of Fair Trading, the overall cost of this differential to
UK private car buyers could be as much as £1 billion a year.
The report highlighted the selective and exclusive distribution system – under which all
new cars are sold through manufacturers’ franchised dealerships – as the root of the