Berlin  - European car sales plunged 18.3 per cent in February, even as Germany bucked the trend thanks to auto buying incentives that led consumers to storm showrooms across the country, figures released Friday showed.

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said that new car registrations in Europe fell last month to 968,159 cars from 1.19 million in the same month last year.

However, Germany posted a 22-per-cent jump as car buyers cashed in on a special bonus scheme for scrapping older cars and replacing them with newer, more environmentally minded, models.

"Two months into the year, the European market was down 23 per cent compared to January-February last year," ACEA said in a statement.

The Spanish market recorded the sharpest decline, down 49 per cent.