PSA Peugeot Citroen SA, Europe's second-largest car maker, said yesterday that first-half car and light-truck sales rose 4.6 percent, helped by new models such as the 308 compact and growth in Latin America and Russia.

The Peugeot and Citroen brands increased deliveries to 1.85 million vehicles in the first six months from 1.76 million a year earlier, the Paris-based company said in a statement obtained by Bloomberg News.

Western European sales fell 3.5 percent to 1.23 million vehicles, while deliveries outside the region increased by 20 percent.

Peugeot "anticipates that Western European markets will undergo an even greater slowdown" in the second half, with demand falling about 4 percent for the year, the company said.

At the same time, "double-digit growth" will continue in Latin America and Russia, leading the company to reiterate a 5-percent growth target for vehicle sales this year.

Fuel-price increases discouraged consumers from buying vehicles, leading to declines in automotive sales across Europe in May and the first five months, the region's car makers' association said on June 13.

Western Europe would be a "zero-growth market" by 2010, Fiat SpA Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said on June 7 after signing a deal to assemble cars in Russia next year.

Peugeot shares fell as much as 1.20 euros (US$1.88), or 3.8 percent, to 30.75 euros and were down 3.7 percent as of 9:24am in Paris trading yesterday. The stock, trading at an 8 1/2-year low, has fallen 41 percent this year.

Italian car registrations dropped 20 percent in June, according to government figures. Sales in Germany fell 6 percent, the country's car makers' trade group, or VDA, said on June 3.

In contrast, French sales rose 2.1 percent last month because of tax policies introduced this year that vary payments according to a model's carbon-dioxide emissions. Peugeot's first-half sales in France rose 5.3 percent to 439,000 vehicles, compared to the French market's 4.6-percent rise.