Wang Xin was all-smiles as she drove off in her first car, bought at the Yayuncun auto trade market in north Beijing yesterday.

"I feel pretty lucky to get my favorite car today and with such a big tax discount," said the 26-year-old travel agent about her new wheels, an 80,000 yuan orange Suzuki Swift.

Wang was among many car buyers who rushed to snap up last-minute bargains, one day after the government decided to increase the vehicle purchase tax for low-emission cars from Jan 1 next year in its latest move to aid economic recovery.

The government will increase the purchase tax on cars with an engine capacity of, or less than 1.6 l, from the current 5 percent to 7.5 percent next year, a cabinet meeting decided on Wednesday. But the ongoing 50 percent discount in the purchase tax will remain.

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Car industry analysts and sales managers said the new move would mean an extra 1,000 and 2,000 yuan to the cost of a car. This will not be a big difference compared with the total price, they said.

But anxious buyers were all over Beijing's largest car market in Changping district yesterday.

A 20-year-old buyer surnamed Lu journeyed from nearby Hebei province to buy a Dongfeng Honda Civic yesterday.

"I once wanted to hold out for bigger discounts, but after the government announced the news yesterday, I decided to come to Beijing right away," he told METRO as he paid off the 9,000-yuan purchase tax for his 120,000-yuan car.

Wang Shoujun, a sales manager at the car market, said his store, dealing in small-emission Mazda cars, sold two more vehicles yesterday morning compared to the morning before.

"Buyers were very eager and kept asking when their ordered cars will arrive. If the cars are delivered to the market after this month, they won't enjoy the discounts," he said.

Other salespersons said potential buyers were still dissatisfied by the discounts and were waiting for better deals on offer next year.

Automakers nationwide have virtually stopped manufacturing new cars after meeting their yearly quota last month.

"Overcapacity has forced car makers to stop providing new cars to the dealers, and I don't expect any sharp increase in sales for the rest of the month," said Guo Yong, head of the Beijing-based Yayuncun Auto Trade Market business center.