AOL Money & Finance

Financial crisis impacts the European car market

We all know the impact that the current economic slowdown has had on American auto sales, and today we get news that European car sales are also feeling the pain, with auto sales dipping 15% during the month of October.

According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, or the ACEA, October marks the sixth straight month that new-car registrations have fallen, but things have been much worse since the summer, when concerns of a global recession really started to spread.

General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) was the worst hit major American automaker, which had a 25% decline in sales in October on a year over year basis. Japanese maker, Toyota Motor Company (NYSE: TM) did not fare to much better, with a 24% dip in sales. Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) did a little bit better, with a reported 11.9% decline in October sales. Europe's largest automaker, Volkswagen, held up the best among the majors, with "only" a 7.9% drop.

The major automakers definitely have their hands full. It's been hard enough having to deal with slowdowns in the major American and European markets, but now signs are also pointing to slowdowns in emerging markets that have been able to show strong growth numbers until recently.

Countries such as Russia, Brazil and China are also now showing signs of slowing down.

This is definitely a tough time now for all the car makers, and until consumers start to regain their trust in their respective economies, expect to see more of the same in terms of sales figures.

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Last updated: November 25, 2009: 06:50 PM

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