European Union auto sales are sagging despite the return of modest economic growth.
For the first eight months of the year, passenger car sales were off 5.2 percent to 7.84 million compared to the same period last year.
That's the lowest January-August figure since the European Auto Manufacturers' Association started keeping track in 1990.
The association said Tuesday that new car registrations in August fell 5 percent from a year ago to 653,872.
GDP in the 28-country EU grew 0.4 percent in the second quarter, but the unemployment rate remains high at 11.0 percent. Countries hit by the eurozone debt crisis such as Greece and Spain face even higher jobless rates that have hurt sales of moderately priced vehicles. Luxury carmakers are doing better.
