Chervolet has launched several types of thrifty types recently. [CFP]

Nearly 2 million passenger vehicles were sold in the country in the first three months, a 7.81 percent year-on-year increase. However, sales of commercial cars fell 6.13 percent to 683,000 in the same period.

Zhang said the quarterly sales rebound could be attributed to the central government's automobile stimulus plan released in March that has set a sales and production target of 10 million vehicles this year.

The Nielsen survey also showed that 46 percent of the respondents decided to postpone car purchases to make more cost-effective decisions.

"One distinct feature of Chinese consumer behavior during the economic crisis is that the purchasing process now takes one and half month longer than that in a sound economy, and 30 percent are planning to buy cars on credit," Zhang said.

"It's quite rare for Chinese car buyers to make their purchases through bank loans, but the recession has made 19 percent more people adopt that route," she said.

Nielsen expects China's automobile industry to record a single digit growth rate this year after double-digit growth from 2005 to 2007.

On policy front, the findings showed that Chinese consumers are expecting more vehicle consumption stimulus policies, including a reduction in the vehicle import tax (63 percent).

"The economic crisis has hampered the growth of Chinese automobile market, but the long-term growth will remain strong, given the diversified demands among first-time buyers and repeat buyers," Zhang said.

Speaking on the eve of the Shanghai motor show, Zhang said that the crisis will undoubtedly push automobile manufacturers to make more active promotions on the show, because first-time buyers have taken it as one of the top three channels to get information prior to making their final purchasing decisions.

(China Daily April 21, 2009)