Peugeot Citroen sales slump

Peugeot Citroen said today its sales slumped in the first quarter as Europe's recession-hit markets caused car sales to collapse across the region's southern flank.

The Paris-based car maker says it made 15.4 billion euros (£12.6 billion) in the first quarter, down 7% from a year earlier.

The car maker blamed the collapse of markets in southern Europe for the weak quarterly performance.

Peugeot Citroen sales contracted 20% across all of Europe, with falls of 19.4% in France and 22.4% in Italy.

In a statement the company said it expected the European market to be down by about 5% over the full year, and by about 10% in France.