Europe's new car sales are veering off track

Car sales in Europe skidded to a fresh low last month, falling 8.5 per cent below the number driven off forecourts in January 2012. The Association of European Automakers said registrations fell to 918,280 new cars last month.

Ford, which is cutting production capacity in Europe, recorded a 26 per cent slump in sales to 61,544 cars. Peugeot and Toyota posted the next biggest declines, dropping 16 per cent each.