A Bentley car is shown at the 5th Zhengzhou International Auto Exhibition in Zhengzhou, Henan province, on Nov 2. [Li Bo / Xinhua]

 

Also owned by German vehicle conglomerate Volkswagen AG, the French ultra-super sports car brand Bugatti said it sold six sports cars in China in the first three quarters of 2012, a sales record for the brand in the world's largest automobile market.

The vehicles included the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, which made its Asian debut at the Beijing auto show, and the Veyron Super Sport, the fastest street-legal production car in the world with a top speed of 431.1 km per hour.

"Chinese always want the best, and this gives us a bright future," said Franco Utzeri, sales director of the French brand.

Utzeri told China Daily that Bugatti is planning a strategy for the China market, with a preliminary target of expanding its dealership to 15, from two in Beijing and Hong Kong, by 2015.

Recognized by Chinese luxury consumers as the world's most expensive cars, Bugatti's name made headlines in Beijing and Shanghai auto shows in recent years.

Expense seemed no problem for buyers as the car, with an astronomical price tag, always sold out on the first day.

However, Bugatti's position may be challenged this year as Swedish manufacturer Koenigsegg hopes to tickle the fancy of Chinese buyers with its $2 million One:1 concept.

Limited to just five units, it has received its first order from its dealership in Shanghai.

Other brands are also making inroads.

Rolls-Royce, a favorite of the British royal family, saw around 30 percent of its sales coming from the Chinese mainland, its second-largest market in 2012.

Chief executive officer Torsten Muller-Otvos told China Daily in January that the exclusive brand sold 3,575 cars in 2012 worldwide, in its third consecutive year of record sales.