Jan 21 European car sales growth is likely to slow to about 2 percent in 2016 after a sharp recovery in southern nations last year, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said on Thursday. ACEA President Dieter Zetsche, who is also chief executive of Daimler, said the market was moving in the right direction after several rocky years following the 2008 financial crisis, but that sales remained below the 2007 pre-crisis peak of 15.5 million cars.