France's car sales tumbles 8% in October on feeble economy

Xinhua - French car manufacturers sold 8 percent less of new vehicles in October compared to the same month a year earlier as grim economic outlook forced car buyers to clinch their belts, French car sales federation CCFA said on Friday.

Last month, new car sales were at 197,508 units from 214,756 vehicles sold in October 2011, pulled down by home-made brands which suffered a setback due to combined impact of weak economy and poor competitiveness of the domestic car business.

Local car manufacturers sold 110,242 units over the period, down 15.3 percent with sales of Renault, France's second-largest manufacturer shrunk by 25.5 percent to 47,045 new vehicles.

Already suffering from high losses and shrinking demand, Peugeot Citroen, the country's leading car maker reported 5.7-percent fall of its sales, according to the CCFA.

As to foreign brands, French clients bought 87,266 units, up from 84,644 vehicles registered last year.

To keep the sluggish sector afloat, the French government resorts to clean cars and is seeking to reinforce production of environmentally-friendly vehicles through an auto sector rescue package.