PSA Peugeot Citroen's H1 unit sales down 14%

French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen said on Tuesday its vehicle and CKD kit sales fell 14 percent in the first six months of the year.

Leaving aside sales of CKD vehicles -- completely knocked down kits which are shipped for assembly in other markets such as Iran -- sales were down 17.5 percent at 1.386 million vehicles.

The company gave no forecast, saying only that the second half of the year would be shaped by the arrival of new car models including the new Citroen C3 and Peugeot's 5008.

The car industry has been hit by an unprecedented crisis, with carmakers slashing production and cutting jobs late last year in reaction to a slump in sales.

European car sales fell for the 13th straight month in May, by 4.9 percent to 1.27 million vehicles.

Governments have stepped in to help, providing loans and introducing incentive schemes to help carmakers survive the downturn, leading to some signs of improvement in recent months.

In France car sales rose 7.1 percent in June, while in Germany sales were up 40 percent in the month. But industry watchers are concerned about how carmakers will cope with the transition when the schemes end.

Rival Renault is due to report its commercial results together with its financial results at the end of July.