Fiat, Ford and Toyota led a third consecutive monthly decline in European car sales as demand dropped with the withdrawal of government scrapping incentives.
Registrations fell 6.2 per cent to 1.38 million vehicles in June from 1.48 million a year earlier, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers Association said.
First-half deliveries rose 0.6 per cent to 7.5 million. Fiat recorded the biggest decline among the larger manufacturers in the European market, with sales falling 20 per cent to 100,399 cars.
Ford's registrations tumbled 15 per cent to 125,690, while Toyota dropped 12 per cent to 56,973 cars.
European demand is sagging as governments withdraw or reduce sales subsidies that were on offer last year to help the auto industry through the economic crisis. Among major markets, June's contraction was most pronounced in Germany, Italy and France, where the so-called "cash-for-clunkers" payments have been slashed or abandoned.
In Germany, which offered the region's most generous incentives last year, deliveries slumped one-third to 289,259 vehicles in June. Germany's plunge contributed to an 8.1 per cent sales drop for Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen AG, Europe's biggest carmaker, while Italy's 19 per cent market decline weighed on Turin-based Fiat.
French new-car demand fell 1.3 per cent in June, outpaced by a 5 per cent sales slide in Europe for Paris-based PSA Peugeot Citroen, the country's biggest carmaker.
Smaller domestic rival Renault SA bucked the decline with a 3.8 per cent gain in June, led by its no-frills Dacia brand, which rose 7.9 per cent.
Reuters