Car sales dropped in January

÷ EUROPEAN car sales only spluttered to a start this year, with January’s decline marking a fifth consecutive monthly drop.

Passenger car registrations dropped 4.6pc on last year to 1.23 million vehicles in the EU and EFTA, said the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. Sales declined in all of the region’s largest markets of Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain.

A no-deal Brexit would add further pressures. Ford said earlier this week a hard Brexit would be “catastrophic’ for the UK’s automotive sector.