PARIS, April 1 (Xinhua) -- France sold less new cars in March, compared with the same month a year earlier, mainly due to falling demand for foreign brands, French car sales federation CCFA said on Monday.

Last month, car manufacturers sold 225,818 units across France, down from 231,103 offered last year, CCFA figures showed.

Sales of foreign brands suffered a 3.3 percent fall after they provided domestic market with 92,840 cars in March, compared to the results of the same period in 2018.

According to the report, the negative trend was attributed to a sharp drop in sales of U.S. car maker General Motors and that of Japan's Nissan. They reported a decline of 72.7 percent and 33.6 percent respectively.

French home-made brands lost 1.6 percent mainly due to a decrease in Renault sales. The car maker sold 1.7 percent less cars, However, sales of brand of Dacia rose by 13.8 percent over the period.

As to PSA Peugeot Citroen group, the car maker saw its sales sliding by 1.5 percent, the CCFA added in a statement.