Europeans shun bankrupt bound GM cars

European car sales fell 26 percent in November, the biggest monthly drop since 1999, as a global recession and tighter credit hurt purchases and people shunned vehicles made by bankruptcy-threatened General Motors Corp.

Registrations declined to 932,537 from 1.26 million a year earlier, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said in a statement today. Sales slumped 39 percent at GM and 56 percent at Chrysler LLC after the U.S. companies told Congress they were running out of cash. Volkswagen AG fared best among major automakers, with deliveries down 16 percent.

European business and consumer confidence fell to a 15-year low in November as advanced economies suffered their first simultaneous recession in more than 60 years. The U.K. and Spain had the steepest drops among major markets, with East European sales also weaker. Eleven-month registrations slid 7.1 percent, accelerating from a 5.4 percent decline through October.

“This clearly demonstrates the weakness of European carmakers," said Georg Stuerzer, an auto-industry analyst at UniCredit in Munich. “Talk of bankruptcy at GM wouldn’t have helped sales."