New car registrations in western Europe fell 2.5 per cent to 1.35 million vehicles in September due to calendar quirks and weak major markets, the German auto industry association VDA said.

"The month had one fewer working day than September 2005 in most western European countries, so sales can be seen as respectable in September, given the record results achieved in the year-earlier month," VDA said.

Car registrations, which closely mirror new car sales, inched up 0.1 per cent to 11.3 million vehicles in the first nine months of 2006 in western Europe, it said, citing preliminary data.

The ACEA European automotive industry association released its September registration data yesterday.

Data from individual countries had already pointed to generally soft car sales in September, keeping the pressure on automakers to offer margin-eroding discounts.

New car registrations rose 4.5 per cent in Germany, Europe's biggest car market, as new models and easing fuel prices helped spark demand.

Registrations in Britain dipped 0.7 per cent, while Italy's registrations slipped 3.2 per cent amid growing consumer caution in Europe's third-largest car market.

Spain's new car registrations fell 7.2 per cent year-on-year, while those in France plunged 13.3 per cent last month.