Car competition fierce in Common Market

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION recently published a study on ‘The Indices of Concentration and Concrete Application in the Car Sector within the Community’. The study is experimental. The car industry was chosen because it is homogenous, and because there is an abundant supply of information on it. The Commission says this was merely the first stage of the attempts to follow the evolution of concentration in different industries. It deals with the years 1967 to 1969, but the results can be brought up‐to‐date. The level of concentration is high in Italy, less high in France and Germany, but very low in the Netherlands. However, during this period, the level dropped in Italy; Fiat's share fell from 73·3% in 1967 to 69 5% in 1969, despite the absorption of Lancia and Autobianchi. The level of concentration also dropped in France, because of the growth of non‐French makes on the national market. On the other hand, the level rose slightly in Germany and the Benelux countries.