The fall follows a run of four better months in terms of Seasonally Adjusted Annualised Rates (SAAR) of sales, with the August result slipping back to 11.1 million units/year.

However, LMC cautions again putting too much emphasis on the latest figures, with August being the weakest month of the year and adds that the September result is much more critical, not least because of the registration plate change in the UK.

It adds that there are good reasons to continue to believe the market will begin to pick up. The Eurozone economy is expected to return to growth in the second half of the year, albeit slowly, which will provide support to the car market. Consumer confidence has also been edging up in recent months. However, the West European car market (at 11.4 million units) is likely to finish 2013 nearly 3.5 million units lower than 2007 with only a modest improvement likely in 2014.

Looking at individual market performances, the result for Germany saw sales down by 5.5%, with the year-to-date market down by 6.6%. The German car market's selling rate slipped back again after climbing above 3.0 million units/year the previous month.

The selling rate in France also fell back, after a run of three months at around 1.8 million units/year, although LMC adds that this was admittedly, still weak by historical standards.

Italian registrations picked up in August, though, like in France, they remain low compared to the pre-recession years last decade.

In Spain, the market continued to be supported by scrappage incentives, though the year-on-year comparison includes a distortion from the VAT increase last year when registrations were pulled forward into August 2012.

The UK continued to expand in year-on-year terms, though the selling rate eased back in a seasonally weak month before the registration plate change in September.

The Netherlands has seen its selling rates improve a little in recent months though a major volume fall in that market is assured for the full year.