Last week, France's Peugeot-Citroen reported a 16.5% fall in sales worldwide, blaming "the crisis affecting the European automobile market".

BBC: Renault to cut about 7,500 jobs in France

The French government has to keep a tight leash on its finances, unemployment is around 10 percent and its exporters are struggling, not least in the auto sector, with both Peugeot-Citroen and Renault struggling.

NPR: Eurozone Recession Deepens As Germany Falters

Not only have the Detroit companies retreated in the face of Japanese advances in the American domestic market but their European subsidiaries have also long been ceding share, as have such European players as Peugeot-Citroen, Volvo, Jaguar, and, of course, Renault.

FORBES: Paul Krugman Says It Again: Japan's Stagnation Is A Myth

Citroen only needed six points to be sure of the manufacturers' title while rivals Peugeot needed a one-two to keep the fight alive going into the final round in Australia.

BBC: Loeb won nine stages of the Rally of Catalunya