European car sales slide in January

BUSINESS

European car sales slide in January

The Associated Press Published Friday, February 15, 2019 9:05AM EST

A couple looks at the price of a new vehicle that has already been sold, parked next to other already sold cars on display at a Volkswagen salesroom in Caracas, Venezuela, Feb. 1, 2013. (AP / Ariana Cubillos)

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MILAN -- The European carmakers' association says new passenger car sales in the region dropped by 4.6 per cent in January, weighed down by big declines in Spain and Italy.

Despite the drop, the association said Friday that the 1.2 million cars sold last month in the European Union marked the second-best January since 2009. It compared with 1.25 million a year earlier.

German manufacturer Volkswagen registered a 6.5 per cent decline in sales, but maintained its dominant 24-per cent market share. Italian-American carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles saw sales decline 15 per cent.

French carmakers PSA and Renault limited their drops to 2 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively. Luxury carmaker Daimler saw sales fall 1.3 per cent while BMW slid by 2.7 per cent.

Demand dropped off by 7.5 per cent in Italy and 8 per cent in Spain.