VW's car sales fall in EU amid wider market slowdown

Volkswagen's group sales and market share in the European Union dipped in October, suggesting that the emissions scandal might have had an impact.

VW Group's total EU sales were 0.5% down from October 2014, while market share slipped to 24.9% from 25.37%.

The data from the Association of European Carmakers (ACEA) also showed a slowdown in EU growth as a whole.

Just more than 1.1 million cars were sold in the EU last month, up 2.9% on last year but 9.8% down on September.

Analysts suggested that buyers may have been put off purchases while they await the outcome of investigations into the VW scandal, in which it was discovered that Europe's largest carmaker was falsifying emissions tests.

"October marks a break in the trend," said Flavien Neuvy, head of Cetelem's automobile research division.

"The Volkswagen affair may have caused collateral damage. We can't rule out that the size of the scandal has been such that drivers have cancelled or postponed purchases," he told the AFP news agency.

VW's mass market brands suffered falls in sales last month, with Seat sales down 11.4%, Skoda's down 2.6%, and the carmaker's own-brand vehicles down 0.2%.

However, premium brands Audi and Porsche recorded healthy growth in the EU, with sales last month rising 4.1% and 13.9% respectively.

Jean-Francois Belorgey, at consultants EY, said the forthcoming release of the ACEA's November figures should give "a much clearer idea" on the lasting impact of Volkswagen's emissions scandal because VW was still delivering cars ordered before the scandal broke.

"They had a very big book of orders which they are now delivering," he said.

For the first 10 months of the year, EU new registrations were up by 8.2% to 11.523 million cars.