FRANKFURT (Reuters) – New car registrations in Europe slumped 7.4 percent in October on falling demand in Germany, France, Italy and Spain and as registrations of Audi, Nissan and VW branded vehicles saw sharp declines, monthly auto industry data showed.

Sales of VW branded cars fell 15.2 percent in October while Audi and Porsche saw declines of 53 percent and 62 percent respectively, figures for sales in European Union and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) markets provided by auto industry association ACEA, showed on Thursday.

Sales of Volkswagen and Audi passenger cars have sagged as European customers increasingly shun diesel cars and as the German brands struggle to get their vehicles to conform with new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle standards (WLTP).

Demand in October softened after carmakers flooded markets with new vehicles ahead of the September 1 introduction of stricter emissions standards.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz saw their sales rise 12.4 percent and 7.9 percent while Jaguar sales surged 65 percent, the figures showed.

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