From AP, via BusinessWeek (link):
A new Chinese tax on luxury cars — imposed in an effort to cut pollution — takes effect next weekend, but analysts say it should have little impact on either the environment or car sales.
Sport-utility vehicles and oversized luxury cars such as the Mercedes-Benz S600 make up a small share of China’s total vehicle sales, said Yale Zhang, an auto analyst for CSM Worldwide.
And buyers usually are wealthy drivers or the government.