Car sales in Western Europe have fallen during August according to the latest results from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

The organisation revealed that sales fell by 0.8 per cent in August, as economic problems in the region's largest automotive market - Germany - hit home.

Total sales fell to 774,753 vehicles last month, with Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler among those firms contributing to the decrease.

Jonathan Poskitt, an analyst at J.D. Power-LMC, said that both the UK and Germany had suffered in recent months.

"The last couple of months have been decidedly low, with jobs in Germany and interest rate in Britain as the two biggest factors,' he told Bloomberg.

However, he did add that seasonal buying habits appeared to be changing, which he said "makes us think there should be a bit of rebound in the next few months".

The German economy has struggled with joblessness in the last two months, with the total number of unemployed hitting 4.41 million in August, the highest since May 2003.

Meanwhile consumer spending in the UK may have been impacted by the decision from the Bank of England to raise interest rates five times since November.