The Audi A6L, a sleek piece of high quality German engineering and car of choice for government officials across China. Of the 252,000 vehicles purchased by the government in 2011, more than half were A6Ls.

New regulation for gov't car purchases.

However government officials may soon have to swap their Audis for domestic brands.

As of March the 9th a new regulation governing official car purchases is set to come into force, with preliminary lists revealing that all of the 419 cars officials are allowed purchase are to be home-grown brands.

However, many analysts remain sceptical as to whether the new regulations, even once enforced, will be enough to persuade officials to part ways with foreign brands. It is likely to only be over the long run that Chinese domestic cars are able to shake off their cheap and cheerful image and begin appealing to more upmarket groups.