Russia dims hopes for European auto rebound

PARIS (AP) — Troubles in Russia's once-booming car market linked to sanctions are dampening spirits at the Paris Motor Show.

The European car market is seeing a fragile recovery, but CEOs in Paris are scaling back hopes that Russia could help drive the rebound.

Sanctions against sectors of Russia's economy over Moscow's actions in Ukraine this year have hammered demand.

Ford's new CEO, Mark Fields, told The Associated Press on Thursday that "weakness in Europe driven by Russia" was a big reason for Ford's recent lowered profit expectations for 2014.

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, whose company has the biggest market share in Russia, said Thursday in Paris that the sanctions "had an impact on the Russian market which as you know is in full contraction ... we are hit indirectly by this."