Chevy soars 18% as European sales falls Down

European car sales fell 5 percent to 653,872 units in August -- the lowest level since records began in 1990.


Despite the euro-zone slump that is keeping customers out of showrooms, General Motors' sales rose half a percentage point as an 18 percent gain by Chevrolet more than offset a 3 percent decline at the Opel/Vauxhall division.

Ford's European sales decreased 1.5 percent last month.Ford of Europe CEO Stephen Odell said on Sept. 9 that "it does feel like we're running along the bottom" of the auto market contraction.



Registrations in the EU and EFTA countries dropped to 686,957 vehicles from 722,458 a year earlier, industry association ACEA said today in a statement. The decline contrasted with 5 percent growth in July.

"We're still in red territory," Florent Couvreur, a Paris-based analyst at CM-CIC Securities, said. "When people say we've reached the bottom, I say, 'watch out,' because the market is still decreasing. The drop is a little less steep, but we're still falling because of the bad macroeconomic environment."

European sales by Volkswagen Group, the region's largest carmaker, fell 11 percent last month, dragged down by a 17 percent plunge at the namesake VW brand. The Audi division sold 6 percent fewer cars in Europe. Skoda and Seat brand sales declined by 5 percent and 3 percent respectively.

PSA, Europe's second-biggest carmaker, posted an 18 percent sales drop in August that eroded its market share to 11 percent for the first eight months, down almost a percentage point year-on-year. CEO Philippe Varin forecast at the Frankfurt show on Sept. 10 that there will be "slightly positive growth" in European auto-industry deliveries next year.