French Car Sales Down 4.3 Pct In July

France sold less new cars in July from a year earlier as persistent gloomy economic climate forced local consumers to squeeze their spending and to stand on edge, French Car Sales Federation (CCFA) said Friday.

Last month, French auto manufacturers offered 143,777 units, down by 4.3 percent compared to sales of July 2013, and to 3.2-percent rise in June the monthly report showed.

Sales of French brands lost 4.3 percent mainly due to falling sales of Renault, the country's second main auto maker which offered 6.3 percent less cars to 32,636 vehicles, pulled down by 14.7 percent drop of low-cost brand of Dacia, according to the federation.

PSA group, France's largest car manufacturer also reported negative trend following 3.1 percent decline in sales,

As to foreign brands, the market of the Eurozone second largest economy absorbed 65,458 units, down from 68,377 the same month in the previous year.
"Households and car companies are facing many troubles that did not promote the purchase of new cars. However, we expect car sales to grow up to 3 percent for the whole year," Francois Roudier, CCFA spokesperson was quoted as saying by local media. (Cihan/Xinhua)