In New Zealand, the Motor Industry Association said the 3795 passenger car registrations in February were down 28% on January and down 38.5% on February last year.
Commercial vehicle registrations of 1263 were ahead of January but down 37% on the same month last year.
Association chief executive, Perry Kerr, said the new vehicle industry had anticipated the downturn and started reducing stock levels from the middle of last year.
Higher prices caused part of the slowdown, with most manufacturers having put them up. More increases were signalled.
"The overall price adjustment needed to compensate for the very weak New Zealand dollar is close to 50%, so there are still quite a number of price increases to come," Mr Kerr said.
Toyota continued to lead the market in both passenger car and commercials with a combined market share of 16.5%, or 832, registrations for the month.
Ford was second, with 12.2% (620) and Mazda third, with 9.2% (464) registrations, just ahead of Holden, with 463.
The most popular car last month was the Toyota Corolla, of which 219 were sold, followed by the Holden Commodore, with 186, the Ford Falcon, with 166 and the Suzuki Swift, with 160.
European car makers said they expected production and sales to fall more than originally forecast and called for easier and faster access to funding.
"We are not at the end of the tunnel. We are seeing the slide continuing," Carlos Ghosn, head of European auto industry body ACEA, told Reuters.
"Our forecast for production is 25% down in 2009 compared with 2008."
Mr Ghosn is also the chief executive of French car maker Renault and Japan's Nissan Motor Co.
The EU's car industry, with annual sales of 780 billion ($NZ1.6 billion), employing 2.3 million people directly and a further 10 million in related sectors, had previously said output could fall by at least 15% this year.
Mr Ghosn reiterated that the car industry needed 40 billion in funding as soon as possible.
He said that the European Investment Bank should eliminate some of the constraints for its loans to the sector.
"We are not asking for subsidies. We are just asking for financing to be re-established with normal amounts at normal terms and relatively normal spreads," he said.
"We need this financing now, and the speed of action is absolutely fundamental. We want Europe to take a more proactive stand."
Ford Motors announced a plan to cut its $US25.8 billion ($NZ53.75 billion) in automotive debt by about 40%, by offering creditors cash and new shares as it looks to slash financing costs at a time of plunging sales and tight credit.
Ford shares declined 15% after the announcement of the plan to cut its debt by up to $US10.4 billion, which could increase the number of shares outstanding.
Chrysler said it was eliminating the third shift at its minivan assembly plant in Canada, affecting about 1200 jobs.
The car maker is in discussions with the Canadian federal and Ontario provincial Governments, seeking taxpayer assistance for its Canadian operations.
The Chrysler move is the second blow in as many days to southern Ontario's industrial economy.
On Tuesday, US Steel Canada announced a shutdown of the former Steelco steelmaking operations, blaming slumping demand from industries, including the automotive sector.
Japanese car makers Honda, Nissan and Mazda said they might seek crisis loans from the Japanese Government, underscoring the industry's deepening woes.
They would join the world's largest car maker, Toyota, whose financial unit had already requested public money to help it through a credit crunch.
The companies declined to say how much public aid they would request from the state-backed Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
Toyota's wholly-owned financial subsidiary is asking for about 200 billion ($NZ4.12 billion), according to Japanese media.
The Japanese Government said it would use $US5 billion from its foreign currency reserves to help keep credit flowing to cash-strapped companies.
