Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news

A growing number of Chinese are planning to buy cars in the near future, but as supply still outpaces demand, no rebound is expected for the sluggish domestic auto market this year, according to a latest survey by ACNielsen of 3,000 consumers in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, as cited in yesterday's Youth Post.
Prospective car buyers in Shanghai have the highest budget of 150,000 yuan (US$18,000) for a car, followed by Guangzhou of 145,000 yuan and Beijing of 120,000 yuan. The average budget the three cities has declined 18 percent from 165,000 yuan to 135,000 yuan this year.
However, among the three cities, Shanghai has the fewest private cars, with only eight percent of respondents owning private cars, up four percentage points from a year before; Beijing is still the major market for private sedans, with up to 22 percent of interviewees owning private cars, an increase of 11 percent from a year before; Guangzhou ranked second, with 14 percent of interviewees having private cars, up nine percentage points from the previous year.
This year, the proportion of respondents owning private cars has increased by 15 percent on average, up seven percentage points from a year earlier. A total of nine percent of the interviewees are interested in purchasing a car, up three percentage points from the previous year.