Paris - French car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen said Tuesday that sales of its vehicles worldwide had fallen by 4.9 per cent in 2008, to 3.26 million units.

However, because most other car manufacturers are also experiencing falling sales in the global economic downturn, the company's share of the world car market remained at 5 per cent.

Sales in Western Europe were down 10.5 per cent last year, Peugeot Citroen said in a statement, with particularly negative results in Spain and Britain.

In addition, sales for its Chinese subsidiary Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile fell by 14.2 per cent, to 179,000 units, as the Chinese market also began to feel the effects of the economic crisis in the second quarter of last year. (dpa)