Nissan, Ford, VW led 0.5% April European car sales slide

PARIS (Reuters) - European car sales fell 0.5% in April, the main regional industry group said on Friday, led by sharper monthly declines for Nissan, Ford and Volkswagen.

Registrations fell to 1.345 million cars in the EU and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states from 1.351 million a year earlier, the Brussels-based Association of European Carmakers said in a statement. Sales were down 2.5% for the first four months of 2019.

Sales tumbled 17.1% at Nissan, which is suffering from a broad sales and earnings slump as it struggles to turn the page on the scandal surrounding ousted former chairman Carlos Ghosn.

Ford, which is downsizing its European operations, posted a 5.1% drop in registrations, while Volkswagen Group sales were 3.4% lower, the association said.

(Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Toby Chopra)