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)