Peugeot Citroën driven into the red

Peugeot Citroën has posted a record €5bn (£4.3bn) loss for 2012, against a €588m profit the year before, as the poor state of Europe's car market forced it into a €4.7bn writedown on assets.

The company blamed "the deteriorated environment in the automotive sector in Europe" as it announced that group sales fell by 5.2 per cent to €58.4bn.