EU car sales slow

European automobile sales slowed to their lowest rate in a year in November, as slumps in consumer demand plagued Germany and France, according to a new report released on Tuesday.

New passenger car registrations in the European Union logged a 15th consecutive month of growth in November, increasing by only 1.4 percent to 953,886 vehicles sold compared to the same month in 2013, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said.

Dragging down total November registrations was a 1.8 percent decrease in Germany - Europe's biggest car market - and a 2.7 percent fall in France. But the month was balanced out by a rebound in auto markets at the center of the euro debt crisis, as well as strong demand in central Europe.

The eurozone's two biggest economies had also contracted or stagnated in the second quarter to the end of September, according to the EU's statistics office Eurostat. The eurozone economy also had ground to a halt, logging zero growth in gross domestic product (GDP), in the same period for the 18-member bloc.

As a result, mass market brands like German's Volkswagen, France's PSA Peugeot-Citroen and Italy's Fiat suffered from the eurozone's recent economic woes, while luxury labels netted substantial gains, the Association said.

Last month's increase in the total EU registrations brought the rate of growth from January to November to 5.7 percent, the ACEA added.

el/uhe (dpa, ACEA)