EU is unlikely to change car sales rules radically.

The European Commission appears ready to take a moderate approach to block exemption reform.

An EC ruling due in January will be based on a report that favors only partial liberalization of new-car sales competition rules.

A 350-page report from Andersen Consulting does not call for radical changes to block exemption, the rule which allows European carmakers to sell and service vehicles through exclusive dealerships.

Instead, it emphasizes the benefits of creating a "middle way" between maintaining the existing system and allowing a free-for-all, where, for example, supermarkets would be allowed to sell cars.

The middle way, which Andersen …