EUROPECar sales data show big slump

Car sales extended their declines in France, Spain and Italy last month, data showed on Friday, leaving little hope of a rebound in Europe’s car market soon. Volkswagen and US car manufacturers led a 15 percent drop in French registrations to their lowest January level since 1997. Italian sales declined 17.6 percent, while Spain was limited to a single-digit contraction due to renewed subsidies. “The French passenger car market started 2013 on as weak a note as it exited 2012,” analyst David Arnold at Credit Suisse said in a note. – Reuters