European new car registrations for October totalled 1,002,167 units, signalling a year-on-year decline of 4.6% according to information supplier Jato.

Between January and October, sales stood at 10,743,205, compared to 11,571,638 in 2011, a year-on-year drop of 7.2%.

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Although car sales are still shrinking, the rate of decline has slowed, with several markets which posted an average decline year-to-date managing to post some growth in the month.

Greece, for instance, saw October sales rise 1.6% year-on-year despite an overall decline between January and October of 40% compared to 2011.

As has been the case previously, UK car sales compare well with the European average with 12.1% growth in October and 5.0% growth from January to October compared to last year.

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Despite a sales decline of 10% year-on-year, the Volkswagen Golf remained the best-selling model over the year, with year-to-date sales totalling 373,076.

Of the top ten brands, only Mercedes-Benz and Audi posted any growth compared to last year. Mercedes-Benz sales were up 9.8% for October and 5.5% year-to-date. Audi sales were up 3.7% for October and 1.0% year-to-date.