Sales falls cap dire year for Europe auto sales

MILAN (Reuters) - A fresh round of weak data sealed a dire 2008 for European car makers on Friday as Spanish sales nearly halved in December and Italy reported a double-digit fall.

At the end of a year which saw the industry worldwide face slumping demand as the credit crunch bit, Spanish car sales were down 49.9 percent in December compared with the same month last year.

They were over 28 percent lower in 2008 vs 2007, their sharpest ever yearly drop, according to Spanish industry group ANFAC.

In Italy, Europe's fourth biggest market, new car sales fell 13.3 percent in December from a year ago -- less severe than November's 29.5 percent collapse as a last-minute rush to take advantage of incentives ending on December 31 provided some support.

Belgian car sales suffered a shallower fall, down 7.84 percent in December.

Europe's top three markets by sales - Germany, France and the United Kingdom - have yet to report December sales figures.

In Italy, 2009 is looking no better with industry body ANFIA forecasting sales could be below 2 million if the Rome government did not act to help car makers.

"The outlook for 2009 is certainly not rosy," ANFIA said. Think tank Promoter has already forecast Italy's 2009 new car sales will fall 13.5 percent.

Incentives to trade in older, more polluting vehicles ended on December 31 in Italy and the government has yet to extend them.