European car sales hit 17-year low Car sales fell 5.6pc in June from a year earlier to 1,134,042, the deepest fall since 1996. However, it was marginally better than May, which saw car sales plunge to their lowest level in two decades, eroding hopes from an April bounce when new car deliveries rose for the first time in 19 months. The UK was the only major car market to see growth, up 13.4pc, as Europe's second-biggest market posted a 16-month run of increased sales, according to the European Automobiles Association (ACEA). The German market, which resisted much of last year's slump, shrank 4.7pc in June, while sales in France and Italy fell 8.4 and 5.5pc, respectively, as unemployment and austerity measures curb consumer spending. Fiat was the biggest faller in June, with sales falling 13.6pc. France's Peugeot Citroen, which is cutting 8,000 jobs and closing a domestic factory for the first time in more than 20 years, ranked as June's second-biggest casualty among the largest automotive groups, with a further 10.8pc sales plunge. New car registrations in the EU in the first six months of the year also declined, down 6.6pc on the same period last year.