Berlin - Italy's domestic car market shrank by 19.5 per cent year-on-year in June, data released Wednesday showed, as the economic mood in the nation continue to darken.

New car registrations in Italy dropped to 184,275 last month compared with 228,924 in June 2007, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers' Association
(ACEA).

Last month's slump brought the overall drop in the Italian car market for the first six months to the year to 11.5 per cent.

The nation's key auto maker the Fiat Group reported a 6.3 per cent drop in June compared to same month last year. For the first six months's Fiat sales were down 2.5 per cent compared with the same 2007 period.

Like Britain, Spain and Ireland, Italy has been badly hit by growing economic uncertainty with the slump in car sales in the nations helping to drag down overall car registrations in Europe.

Total European vehicle sales dropped by 7.9 per cent in June with new car registrations falling by 2 per cent in the first six months of the year, according to ACEA figures. (dpa)