New car list prices in the UK are 18% above the European average, according to the latest Credit Suisse First Boston retail price index, which represents a “significant reduction” on last year.

List prices remain highest in Scandinavian countries, with Denmark topping the table at 82% above the average due to high taxation.

Eurocarprice.com, which publishes the index, said buyers were enjoying “hidden price cuts” because manufacturers were competing by adding extra equipment to new vehicles.

Rick Yarrow, of Eurocarprice.com, said actual prices across Europe had fallen by 2.2% over the past 12 months.

“This is good news for car buyers, but bad news for jobs in the automotive industry,” he said. “There are signs that the decline in adjusted new car prices is slowing.”

Pre-tax prices, usually quoted in the media, remain highest in the UK – at 27% above the average – but are again down on 2000.