Abstract
The passenger car market is one of the most important in Sweden as far as household budgets are concerned. In 1988, purchases of passenger cars, repair work included, accounted for 9 per cent of total private income consumption.
A new car is, after a house, the most expensive item that most families purchase. The state of competition in such a market is therefore critical for consumer welfare, mainly because of its possible effect on prices. Furthermore, the large place of the Swedish passenger car industry in terms of its contribution to GNP and employment illustrates the importance of this issue for the Swedish economy as a whole.
