Biggest car sales fall since 1999

November saw the biggest decline in European car sales in nine years

European new car sales dropped by 25.8% in November as the economic downturn continued to hit the industry.

The European carmakers' association, Acea, said it was the biggest fall in new car sales since 1999 - and the seventh monthly fall in a row.

Ireland was worst hit, with a 55.9% fall, while Spain's sales fell 49.6%.

Many companies have cut output to cope with the downturn. This week, Seat and Volvo became the latest firms to announce temporary production halts.

Struggling manufacturers

In Western Europe, registrations were down 26% from a year ago to a total of 854,698 new vehicles in November.

Acea said about a million fewer cars were registered in Western Europe in the period from January to November.

The body's figures said that November sales were down by 36.8% in the UK, by 29.5% in Italy, by 17.7% in Germany, and by 14.1% in France.

Among the major European manufacturers, Germany's Volkswagen recorded a 17.4% drop in European sales in November, France's Peugeot Citroen saw a 26.9% fall, Renault's sales dropped 21.8% and Fiat saw a 23.8% decline.

Separately, Seat said it would cut production further at its main plant in Catalonia in the first half of 2009 in response to diving sales.

The fall in sales is not just restricted to passenger cars as truck sales also fell. Volvo said it would stop truck production for 20 to 25 days in the first quarter of 2009.

Governments are rushing to support car manufacturers struggling to cope with falling sales and difficulties in shifting their stocks of unsold vehicles.

On Monday, after a meeting with top industry executives, France said it was ready to take action in return for a commitment to keep production in the country.

In the US, sources in Washington said the Bush administration could act as early as Wednesday to approve a car industry bail-out.