Car sales in western Europe fell in February according to new figures released by JD Power.

A dip of two per cent across the continent was recorded from January, while seasonally adjusted figures also indicated stagnation in the market.

Germany and Italy were particularly badly hit, while Spain and France proved more resilient.

Sales in Europe's biggest economy - Germany - reflected an annual rate of 3.09 million units per year.

This compared to the VDA's target of 3.25 million units for 2005, with many experts increasingly pessimistic about the prospects for meeting this goal.

While French sales of 2.06 million units per year - 60,000 units above target - were encouraging, the following month's figures are now being scrutinised carefully for further information.

Meanwhile, JD Power also said that it expected the UK market to suffer this year, forecasting a six to seven per cent fall in sales.