March has proved to be a more difficult month for the European car market, according to JATO Dynamics, the world's leading provider of automotive data and intelligence.

New car registrations recorded a drop of 9.7% (175,738 units) compared to the same month last year, posting a total sales volume of 1,631,810 units.

The Volkswagen Golf was the top selling car in Europe so far this year, followed by the Peugeot 207.

"It's disappointing to see such a large percentage drop during March but it's hardly surprising in view of the difficult economic climate that is prevailing in some of the core European markets," says Nasir Shah, Global Business Development Director at JATO.

"Additionally, the March market wasn't helped by the early arrival of the Easter holiday and the corresponding reduction in available trading days."

Thanks to the relatively strong market in the first two months of the year, the year-to-date figures are more favourable, with the market down only 1.9% (81,238 units) on last year, to total year-to-date sales of 4,093,307 units.

Volkswagen continues its dominance of the European market, heading the sales league in both March and year-to-date, ahead of Ford, Opel/Vauxhall, Renault and Peugeot.

With the market depressed, most brands suffered reduced sales volumes in March.

However, those that recorded increased registrations compared to March 2007 have recorded significant increases, with Nissan up 38.1%, Mini up 21.8%, Dacia up 26.9%, Smart up 91.0%, Dodge up 57.9% and Maserati up 80%.

This year to date, there are more success stories, including Fiat up 3.2%, BMW up 7.4%, Honda up 1.5%, Mazda up 6.8% and Kia up 4.8% .

The Peugeot 207 continues to perform outstandingly well for the French car-maker and was again Europe's top-selling new car in March with 46,500 units registered, ahead of the Ford Fiesta (45,666 units), Volkswagen Golf (45,484 units), Opel/Vauxhall Corsa (45,459 units), Ford Focus (45,274 units), Opel/Vauxhall Astra (43,794 units), Renault Clio (39,123 units), Fiat Punto (32,890 units), BMW 3-Series (29,397 units) and Volkswagen Polo (29,356 units).

The Fiesta's performance is particularly impressive given the publicity surrounding its replacement model following its reveal at the Geneva show at the start of March.

This year so far, the Golf still clinches the top spot (up 20.4% Year-to-Date (YtD)), followed by the 207 (up 6.7% YtD), Corsa, Focus, Astra, Fiesta, Clio, Punto, Polo (up 1.0% YtD) and Toyota Yaris.

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