Data reveals that sales of imported cars have once again increased in China. The growth comes after what many have called an "18-month-long winter".  Our reporter Feng Xin went to an imported auto expo in Beijing to find out what industry insiders think of the market.

Despite a 20-percent drop in sales last year, Maserati released its 2017 edition of Quattroporte.

But the Italian luxury brand is not the only one that has experienced a cold winter in China. Parallel import dealer Chen Hui says his company has seen a 30 percent decline in sales this year so far, compared to the same time last year. 

"We used to be able to compete with franchisers by cutting our price by 15 percent. But we now feel a lot of pressure, because of the fluctuations in international currencies this year, plus the factor that all the franchisers are pouring their inventory by lowering prices," said Chen Hui, sales director of Beijing Canda Dachang Auto Company.

The latest numbers show that China sold nearly 570,000 imported cars in the first eight months of this year, making a 5 percent decline year on year. But August sales alone climbed nearly 10 percent, marking an increase for a second consecutive month. This coincides with an increase in the total number of cars sold in China this summer.

But analysts say it's too early to say these numbers are any sign of a pick-up...

"The sales numbers in July, August and September look quite high. This is because we are comparing them with last year's low numbers, which were significantly affected by the stock market. A second reason is that all the car dealers have been working hard to empty their old stock. August was precisely the point when they accomplished that," said Xing Lei, chief editor of China Automotive Review.

Car dealer Chen Hui says he doesn't see any sales perk any time soon. Their strategy is to differentiate imported cars to fulfill China's niche market.