French March Car Registrations Fall 16.4 Percent
French car registrations fell again in March as consumers, worried about the economy, maintained the wait-and-see attitude which has prevailed over the past 16 months.
According to the latest figures published by the country's main CCFA auto industry body on Tuesday, French car registrations fell 16.4 percent in March and 14.7 percent overall in the first quarter.
The March decline also reflected a smaller number of days than in the year-earlier period. Adjusted for these calendar effects, French car registrations fell 12.5 percent last month and 12 percent in the first quarter.
In March alone, PSA Peugeot Citroen's private car sales fell 23.6 percent in its home market. At smaller domestic rival Renault, they were down 8.3 percent, Paris-based CCFA said.
Meanwhile, German carmaker Volkswagen group's French sales fell 19 percent last month.
CCFA reiterated its full-year outlook, saying it expected 2013 registrations in France to fall by at least 5 percent, and forecast an improvement only in the second half.
