Ford, PSA led European car sales decline in September

PARIS (Reuters) - French carmaker PSA Group (PEUP.PA) and U.S. competitor Ford (F.N) led a 2 percent decline in European car sales last month, according to industry data published on Tuesday.

September registrations fell to a combined 1.466 million cars in the European Union and European Free Trade Area (EFTA), the Brussels-based Association of European carmakers said.

Combined sales of PSA brands fell more than 5 percent, with Peugeot, DS and Opel/Vauxhall all recording year-on-year declines. Paris-based PSA acquired Opel earlier this year and began reporting registrations for the German brand in August.

Ford sales dropped 13 percent to 93,288 cars, while EU market leader Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) saw its registrations slip 1.1 percent, weighed down by the VW brand's 3.2 percent drop.

Asian carmakers fared better last month, with Toyota's sales up 1.9 percent and Nissan recording a 3.3 percent gain. Hyundai rose 2.1 percent as affiliate Kia jumped 6.5 percent.

(Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Matthias Blamont)