European car sales endured their worst October since 1996, it has been revealed.

New registrations fell by 2.6 per cent to 1.16 million cars last month and ten-month sales were down 0.3 per cent to 13 million units, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association announced.

France, Spain and the UK were the biggest losers, down 5.8, 9.6 and 10.8 per cent per cent respectively.

"The slowdown in the UK was mainly due to the progressive deceleration of the economy together with higher interest rates," the association told Bloomberg.

"The weakening of the Spanish market resulted essentially from a two-day strike of Spanish haulage companies,' it continued.

Experts believe consumers can expect some attractive deals in the run-up to Christmas as companies attempt to recoup their losses.

Poor European numbers were matched in the US where sales of 14.7 million cars for October was the lowest since August 1998.


Ÿ Adfero Ltd