European car sales in 2008 show fastest drop for 15 years
BRUSSELS - NEW car sales in Europe slumped by 7.8 per cent in 2008, the biggest annual drop in 15 years, the European automakers association ACEA announced on Thursday.
In December alone, European registrations declined by 17.8 per cent, the second worst performance of the year following the stunning 25.8 per cent drop the previous month.
December's figures, though bad, were cushioned by an average of two extra working days during the month, ACEA said.
European new passenger car registrations fell to 14,712,158 over the year with much of the decline logged in the final quarter after the euro zone officially went into recession.
In western Europe demand fell by 8.4 per cent over the year while in the newer, mainly more eastern EU states, the numbers were only 0.7 per cent down on the 2007 figures. -- AFP
