VW European sales growth screeches to near-halt

MILAN: Volkswagen sales growth in Europe has screeched to a near halt in November compared with both its mass-market and premium peers.

Statistics released Tuesday by Europe's carmakers' association ACEA show that Volkswagen's sales in November grew by just 2.4 percent, compared with nearly 14 percent for the industry as a whole. The German carmaker also saw its market share slide from 26.6 percent in November 2014 to 24.3 percent this year.

Volkswagen has been tainted by a scandal that it tinkered with software to achieve better emissions results in US testing.

European peers fared much better. Mass-market manufacturers PSA Peugeot, Renault, Ford, Opel and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles all posted double-digit growth, as did premium carmaker Daimler, up 22 percent, and BMW, up 10 percent.