Britain is still the most expensive place in the European Union to buy new cars, a survey showed today.

Despite UK price decreases for many models in the last six months, the gap between the cost of a car and its identical counterpart on the continent remained "substantial", according to a European commission survey.

The most glaring gap was for a Fiat Seicento - 60% more expensive in the UK than in Spain. European car prices, before tax, were generally lowest in Denmark, Greece and the Netherlands. Within the 12 eurozone countries, Germany and Austria were the most expensive car markets. But among the 15 European Union countries, the UK remained by far the dearest place for car buyers.

The commission pointed out that UK prices have to include additional costs for items such as right-hand drive, and prices are also affected by fluctuations between the euro and the pound. But a spokesman admitted that rules introduced last year obliging manufacturers and distributors to open up their dealership networks to more competition have yet to deliver the expected "price convergence".

In an ideal single market, the same car in a different EU market would cost the same, but even the greater price transparency of a single currency in 12 of the member states has done little to close the price gap. Within the eurozone, the price difference was up to 41% before tax; add non-euroland Britain, Sweden and Denmark, and the pre-tax EU price gap widened further. A Nissan Almera was 46.2% dearer in Britain than in Greece, a two-litre Saab 9-5 32.2% dearer than in Spain, an Alfa Romeo 166 29.1% more expensive than in Luxembourg and a Rover 75 1.8 27.6% dearer than in France.

British motorists shopping around on the continent to save money on new cars continue to face long delivery times and hefty supplements, including hundreds of pounds for right-hand drive versions of their cars.