Car sales in Europe are at the low end of expectations and the market is likely to remain shaky for at least five years as the region implements austerity measures to cut its debts, industry executives warned yesterday.

Speaking at the Geneva car show, the head of Ford's European business, Stephen Odell, said he expected sales on the continent to continue "running along the bottom" of the US car maker's forecasts during the first half of this year, following a dismal January and February.

German premium car maker BMW, meanwhile, predicted the market was likely to stay tough for years to come.

"We believe that the underlying problem in Europe, which is mainly about debt, will persist for at least five more years," Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer said.

Demand for cars in Europe has been hit hard as disposable incomes have been squeezed by rising prices, subdued wages and government austerity moves.

New car sales in the 27-member European Union dropped 8.2 percent to a 17-year low in 2012, and figures so far this year suggest the market is getting weaker.

New car registrations in Germany, previously a bastion of stability, slumped over 10 percent in February, while they were down around 12 percent and 17 percent in France and Italy respectively.

Morgan Stanley analysts yesterday cut their forecast for EU car demand this year to a decline of 6 percent from a drop of 4 percent previously, warning that weakness in southern European markets like Spain and Italy was spreading northwards.

Duncan Aldred, the sales chief of General Motors' Opel brand, predicted on Monday that European car sales could slide 10 percent this year.