FRANKFURT - Volkswagen, the biggest European carmaker, might close its main plant in northern Wolfsburg for three weeks during the year-end holidays owing to weaker demand, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

"It is still under discussion" with workers' representatives, he told AFP.

The move could extend from December 18 to January 11 and affect up to 16,000 employees, the spokesman said.

Assembly lines "in certain sectors" could also be idled on December 5, the Friday before Saint Nicholas Day, which is widely celebrated in northern Europe.

VW has resisted falling global auto sales better than many rivals until now, and had only evoked the possibility of shutting plants down for a few days at the end of the year.

But "VW cannot isolate itself from the difficult situation in general in the automobile market," the spokesman said.

Like other car makers, the company does not want to build up excessive stocks.

In the past few weeks, most German auto makers, including BMW, Daimler and Opel, have said they too will idle assembly lines for extended periods during the holidays.