Peugeot Q3 sales decline eases on govt schemes

French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen said the decline in revenue eased in the third quarter as it boosted market share in Europe, where governments have launched scrapping schemes to support car sales. Third-quarter revenue at the group fell 7.7 percent, compared with a 24.9 percent year-on-year fall in the first quarter and an 18.9 percent drop in the second, PSA said in a statement on Wednesday.

Peugeot said it felt the benefit of the scrapping schemes, whereby drivers are paid to trade in old cars for new models, in France, Italy and the UK, but especially in Germany, Europe's biggest car market.

The company said European markets were mixed in the third quarter, however, with a negative impact from central and eastern European markets.

Peugeot said it increased overall market share in Europe to 13.4 percent compared with 12.9 percent a year earlier.

The market for light commercial vehicles remained "very weak" in the quarter, Peugeot said, adding that it increased market share to 22.1 percent from 19.2 percent in this segment.

Inventories of unsold vehicles -- a major cash concern for carmakers when the crisis hit last year -- decreased by 36 percent to 400,000 vehicles compared with 628,000 at the start of the year, the company said.

On Tuesday, French car parts makers Faurecia, 70 percent owned by Peugeot, and Valeo made upbeat statements about the rest of the year.

Valeo said it was increasing its second-half production forecast after a third-quarter profit and Faurecia raised its outlook for second-half sales.

PSA rival Renault is due to report third-quarter sales on Oct. 29.