Tasty meals on wheels (4)

Imported Audi models are also becoming more popular. Last year more than 83,000 models were imported, 36.2 percent higher than the previous year. Sales of domestically produced models (Audi A6L, A6L and Q5) rose 28 percent to more than 322,000.

Another premium brand, BMW (including MINI), followed Audi, selling 326,444 cars, a surge of 40 percent over the previous year. This is also the first time that BMW has sold more than 300,000 vehicles in China in a single year.

Mercedes-Benz, however, found it hard to make a breakthrough in the Chinese market, especially with two strong opponents riding ahead.

Last month, the brand delivered 18,910 cars, down by 19 percent year-on-year. Total deliveries for 2012 increased slightly by 1.5 percent to 196,211.

Overall, the Chinese market remains the bread and butter of these foreign brands, and at times it is even being used to nourish the struggling European market.

In October, the Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn said the company will ship 200,000 vehicles to China in 2013 because stalled European markets cannot digest the inventory.