French Car Sales Fall 4% in May on Fewer Working Days

When the figures are adjusted to include a comparable number of working days as in May last year, sales rose 7.3%, according to the CCFA, France's automaker association. The CCFA maintained its forecast for a 2% rise in car sales this year.

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen saw its sales fall 12.8%, not seasonally adjusted, with the DS brand down 44%, Citroen falling nearly 16%and Peugeot down 6.8%. Renault's group sales fell 3.1%, with low-cost brand Dacia down 10% and the Renault brand down 1%.

Volkswagen Group's volume declined 5.3%, while Ford Motor was down 10%. General Motors' sales dropped 0.6%as a 4.8%rise in Opel sales offset a 98% plunge in Chevrolet volume ahead of Chevy's European market exit later this year.

Five-month French car registrations have risen 3.8% to 791,143 so far this year on a reported basis and 5.8% on a comparable basis.