European car sales fell 0.3% in October, with the region’s three biggest auto makers Volkswagen (VLKAY), PSA (PUGOY), and Renault (RNSDF) leading the decline, according to industry data published on Thursday.
Registrations came in at 1.14 million cars last month in the region comprising European Union member states as well as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, the Brussels-based Association of European Carmakers said in a statement.
PSA sales fell 7.4%, weighed down by the Citroen brand’s 8.9% decline, while Peugeot sales were down a more modest 4.6%.
Renault group registrations were 2.1% lower, and Volkswagen suffered a 1.8% sales slide largely attributable to the core VW brand’s 7.8% drop.
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The October numbers dampened the European auto market’s performance for the year so far – now amounting to 6.9% year-on-year growth for January-October.
French and German demand weakened in October, according to national data published earlier this month, causing forecaster LMC Auto motive to trim its full-year market outlook for Western Europe.