Car sales plunge heralding bleak 2009 (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) - Automakers Vo

OTTAWA — Canadian retail sales unexpectedly plunged 2.1% in December amid slumping new-car sales and a weak Christmas shopping season, Statistics Canada data said on Friday. The drop, far larger than the 0.3% decline predicted by economists, suggested that already moderated expectations for fourth-quarter growth might be too optimistic. The monthly fall was the greatest since a 2.4% decline in April 2010. The Canadian dollar softened to its weakest level in seven months against the U.S. dollar after inflation and retail sales data came in below forecast.

Please consider auto sales numbers from a Google Translation of  the article Portugal leads drop in car sales in Europe.

Reuters - South Korea's Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) has stopped U.S.

PARIS (Reuters) - Car sales dropped further in austerity-hit France and Spain last month, and France's CCFA auto industry association cut its full-year market forecast, highlighting the pain for automakers that have warned there is no recovery in sight. French September car registrations dropped 18 percent year-on-year, while Spain's plunged 37 percent, the countries' main industry associations said on Monday. Italian market figures were due later in the day. The Spanish plunge was accentuated by a September 1 sales-tax increase, which had brought forward some sales to August. ...

BEIJING (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Co