Europese autokopers kunnen duizenden euro's besparen met belastingtruc (en)

EU citizens can save thousands of euros by buying a car in another member state, according to the European Commission's new car price report released on Tuesday (1 August). All it takes is a bit of shopping around in countries where the price of a car before taxes is lower, such as Denmark or Hungary.

Once back home with the new purchase, EU citizens are only liable to pay their local tax and could save thousands on the import. The best deals on new cars before tax in the 25-nation EU are in Denmark and Hungary, the twice-yearly report showed, while the Czech Republic is the most expensive.

Despite this, prices are generally lower in the EU's new, eastern European member states than in the old members, said the study. In the eurozone, Finland and Greece have the lowest prices before tax and Germany has the highest.

The commission publishes the report to help consumers compare car prices across Europe and to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the EU single market. The trick does not work for Danish or Finnish residents however, who pay the EU's highest taxes on new cars.

A German buyer can save almost €4,000 from the €17,700 price tag of a Ford Focus in Germany by buying it in Finland, according to media reports. When taking the car back to Germany, the buyer would pay just 16 percent German tax on the car rather than Finland's steep 70 percent. For luxury cars, Denmark charges its citizens 223 percent tax, which forces down the pre-tax sales price to make it affordable for Danish residents.

In general, cars are becoming more affordable, the commission report said, pointing out that "during recent years prices for cars have tended to increase significantly less than the average price for other products."