By Laurence Frost
PARIS (Reuters) - French car sales fell back in October as consumers put off big purchases amid weakening economic confidence, the country's CCFA industry association said on Monday.
Registrations fell 3.8 percent to 160,162 cars last month, the CCFA said -- the first year-on-year decline since February after adjusting for the number of selling days each month.
"We're in a context where all the indicators are pointing to the postponement of purchasing, falling confidence and deflation risk," association spokesman François Roudier said. "This is the perfect illustration."
France has lagged behind Europe's fragile auto market recovery following a brutal six-year slump that ended in 2013. French car sales for the first 10 months of this year are up just 1.4 percent, and Roudier said the CCFA's 2 percent full-year growth forecast would be reviewed in coming weeks.
After two consecutive quarters of zero economic growth, French companies and consumers alike are holding back on spending where they can, increasing concerns that Europe could fall into a deflationary spiral.
The domestic auto market leaders, Renault (PA:RENA) and PSA Peugeot Citroen (PA:PEUP), nevertheless put up strong resistance with respective October declines of 0.4 and 1.5 percent.
Thanks to strong demand for new models such as the Peugeot 308 compact and Renault Captur mini-SUV, the French carmakers have lifted their combined share of the French market to 56.1 percent in January-October from 53.6 percent a year earlier.
European market leader Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p) fared less well, posting a 4.8 percent decline in French registrations, while U.S. automakers plunged.
Ford's (N:F) deliveries dropped 6.8 percent, while the withdrawal of the Chevrolet brand from Europe hit General Motors (N:GM) with a 22 percent sales decline despite the Opel brand's 13 percent gain.
French delivery van registrations fell 4.5 percent in October, the CCFA also said, bringing the sales decline for light vehicles overall to 3.9 percent.
(Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Mark Potter)