THE average retail price of a new car across western Europe has risen by 4.6% over the past 12 months.

Latest figures show that the strongest movement in prices was in Denmark, where they increased by 8.5% during the 12 months to April.

The weakest price movement was in Greece, where retail prices rose by 0.5%. In the UK, prices increased by 5.2%.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers and eurocarprice.com Index of New Car Prices, produced in association with JATO Dynamics, shows that average retail prices in the UK last month were 3% higher than the average for western Europe and 5% higher than the average for the euro currency zone.

On pre-tax prices, a spokesman said: 'The average pre-tax price of cars in the UK, when converted to euros, rose 3% in the 12 months to April. Pre-tax prices in the UK are 8% higher than the average for western Europe and 10% higher than the average for the euro currency zone. Pre-tax prices in the whole of western Europe rose by 1.9% in the year to April.'

The largest increase in average pre-tax prices in western Europe was found in the lower-medium segment, where the increase was 9.2%.

The weakest segment was coupes, where prices increased by 1.6%.Other volume segments and their price movements were small (3.4%), upper medium (4.7%) and executive (7.8%).