Official statistics show that retail car sales in Nanjing during the first three months of this year stood at Rmb7.95bn, down 36.9 per cent over the same period last year. February was one of the better-performing months, with a year-on-year decrease of 11.9 per cent as the week-long Chinese New Year saw consumers out looking for bargains.

Analysts believe that after two consecutive years of growth at around 50 per cent, consumer spending on cars in Nanjing is likely to increase by around 20 per cent this year.