A strong finish to the year for Volkswagen Group and PSA Group limited the industrywide decline in December.
Volkswagen Group registrations for the month rose 8.2 percent, with all brands showing gains except Audi. Sales at Porsche were up 17 percent; VW brand gained 16 percent; Seat was up 5.5 percent; Skoda sales increased 4.5 percent. Audi's registrations fell 5.8 percent.
PSA Group sales rose by 1.7 percent, led by Opel/Vauxhall, whose registrations jumped 19 percent. Citroen sales fell 8.2 percent and DS was down 6.6 percent percent. Peugeot's volume was flat.
Renault Group reported a drop of 16 percent, with Renault brand down 12 percent and Dacia down 22 percent.
Fiat Chrysler sales rose by 7.5 percent, with Jeep's registrations up 20 percent and Fiat brand up 2.8 percent.
Ford's registrations fell 23 percent.
Among Asian automakers, Toyota brand gained 23 percent. Hyundai's volume was flat, Kia was down 11 percent and Nissan sales fell 9.9 percent.
Luxury automakers posted losses in volume, with BMW brand's sales falling 8.4 percent and Mercedes-Benz brand reporting a 3.4 percent decline.
Jaguar was a bright spot among premium brands with sales up 22 percent. Sister brand Land Rover saw its registrations fall 12 percent.