According to CAAM figures, from January to October, 2.61 million Chinese-brand cars were sold, accounting for 26.9 percent of total car sales. The market share was 0.4 percentage points lower than in the same period last year.

In Beijing, market share of Chinese manufacturers dropped from 19.8 percent in 2010 to 11 percent in the first half of this year.

Compared with Chinese brands, the performance of international manufacturers seems much rosier.

CAAM figures show that in October automobile sales in China hit a new high in the recent nine months, with foreign brands recording the fastest growth.

Ford and its partners sold 741,818 vehicles in China within the first 10 months, a year-on-year increase of 52 percent, surpassing the total sales volume of 626,616 vehicles in 2012.

Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co. Ltd., a 50-50 joint venture of China's Dongfeng Automobile and France-based PSA Peugeot Citroen, sold 447,198 vehicles in the first 10 months this year, up by 26 percent year on year, higher than the total sales volume of 440,000 vehicles last year.

Japanese brand cars are also selling well. They were seriously affected last year by the territory dispute between China and Japan, but this year they have recovered from the interruption. In October sales of Japanese brands doubled to reach 272,800, with market share rising from 7.6 percent a year ago to 17 percent.

After Beijing announced car purchase restrictions in December 2010, the number of dealers for Chinese brands has reduced, but that for international manufacturers, especially luxury brands, is growing. In Beijing, 22 new 4S stores were set up in 2011, most of which were for brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

"Before the purchase limit, people might choose Chinese brands as their first car because they could easily change to another car in the future," said Li. "But after the purchase limit, most consumers only consider foreign brands when buying cars. In their minds, foreign brands are more reliable than Chinese ones." However, Li denies that the quality of Chinese brands is inferior.

Opposing restrictions

How has the purchase limit policy alleviated road traffic and reduced pollution in the past three years? There are no official data or reports, but objections to the policy have been ongoing.

CAAM's Chen has been opposing the policy. He thinks the serious air pollution in China is closely related to heavy industries and the unreasonable industrial structure and Beijing's poor road layout and management. Therefore limiting car sales should not be the way to control pollution and traffic.

During the National Day holiday (October 1-7) this year, the number of vehicles running in Beijing reduced by half, but the city still had three days of serious smog. Some netizens hence asked the municipal government to explain why smog still occurred.

Chen said stimulating consumption and transforming the economic growth pattern is now a focus for the country. According to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, in the first half this year consumption related to automobiles contributed 12 percent to the country's total retail sales of consumer goods. Therefore automobiles are an important factor driving up economic growth. Once car restrictions are extended to more cities, the country's economic growth speed will be negatively affected.

Chen thinks to reduce air pollution caused by automobiles, the government can vigorously support the development of new energy vehicles and encourage the purchase of these cars. Moreover, it can properly guide the more reasonable use of cars. For example, for shorter distances people can choose walking or public transport. But restricting sales is not a permanent solution.

Email us at: lanxinzhen@bjreview.com