French passenger car sales fell 15.8 percent in December, car manufacturers' association CCFA said on Monday, as the effects of the weakening economic environment shatter consumer confidence.
The decline in sales in France came after Italy, Spain and Belgium last week published weaker data for December, as car sales have tumbled in recent months because of the effects of the credit crunch.
A total of 153,692 new passenger cars were registered during the month in France. Adjusted for the same number of working days as in December 2007, the French passenger car market would have seen a 23.5 percent fall, the CCFA said.
For the year as a whole, new passenger car registrations slipped 0.7 percent, with 2,050,289 vehicles registered.
Sales of light passenger and utility vehicles dropped 15.9 percent in December, and by 0.6 percent for the year as a whole.
French sales outperformed Spain, which last week published a 49.9 percent fall in December and a 28 percent drop for the year as a whole, their sharpest ever yearly drop, Spanish industry group ANFAC said.
Italy, Europe's fourth biggest market, after France, Germany and the UK, posted a 13.3 percent drop for December on Friday.
France's biggest automaker, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen posted a 0.9 percent decline in sales in December, with Peugeot brand vehicles down 6.6 percent and Citroen brand vehicles up 6.3 percent. Renault saw a 19.9 percent drop in overall passenger vehicle sales in December, with the Renault brand down 22.4 percent and the Dacia brand down 0.6 percent.
The two French car manufacturers were the second and third biggest fallers on the CAC-40 in 2008. Renault lost 80.9 percent and Peugeot 76.6 percent.
The decline in sales in France came after Italy, Spain and Belgium last week published weaker data for December, as car sales have tumbled in recent months because of the effects of the credit crunch.
A total of 153,692 new passenger cars were registered during the month in France. Adjusted for the same number of working days as in December 2007, the French passenger car market would have seen a 23.5 percent fall, the CCFA said.
For the year as a whole, new passenger car registrations slipped 0.7 percent, with 2,050,289 vehicles registered.
Sales of light passenger and utility vehicles dropped 15.9 percent in December, and by 0.6 percent for the year as a whole.
French sales outperformed Spain, which last week published a 49.9 percent fall in December and a 28 percent drop for the year as a whole, their sharpest ever yearly drop, Spanish industry group ANFAC said.
Italy, Europe's fourth biggest market, after France, Germany and the UK, posted a 13.3 percent drop for December on Friday.
France's biggest automaker, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen posted a 0.9 percent decline in sales in December, with Peugeot brand vehicles down 6.6 percent and Citroen brand vehicles up 6.3 percent. Renault saw a 19.9 percent drop in overall passenger vehicle sales in December, with the Renault brand down 22.4 percent and the Dacia brand down 0.6 percent.
The two French car manufacturers were the second and third biggest fallers on the CAC-40 in 2008. Renault lost 80.9 percent and Peugeot 76.6 percent.
