Auto Sales Drop in Italy, France and Germany

Car sales in Germany fell 5% to 226,500 vehicles last month, according to the VDA automaker group.

German demand has dipped 1% to 2.1 million units in the first eight months of 2012. But VDA expects auto sales to revive in the final months of this year.

In Italy, passenger-vehicle registrations tumbled 20% to 56,500 units last month, automaker group ANFIA reports.

Italy's sales in the January-August period plunged 20% year on year to 981,000 vehicles. Fiat SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne declares he has "never seen numbers so low in my life."

Volume in France last month dropped 11% to 96,100 vehicles, says industry group CCFA. August marked the 10th straight month of year-over-year declines, Car sales in France are down 13% to 1.3 million vehicles so far this year.

Demand in Spain rose for the first time in seven months with a 3% increase to 48,800 vehicles last month, the country's carmaker group AFAC reports. It says Spanish consumers rushed to buy cars before the country hiked its sales tax by three points to 21% on Sept. 1.

ANFAC estimates the flurry pulled ahead the purchase of about 10,000 vehicles. Auto dealer group Faconauto predicts that Spain's sales volume in September and October will be "a disaster." The country's car sales fell 9% to 520,200 vehicles in the January-August period.