8 luxury cars and the image of their owners

Chinese luxury car owners are, on average, 33.5 years old, who choose selective car brands as status symbols to support their image, according to a report published Wednesday.

"The Luxury Car Brands in China 2014", released by the Hurun Research Institute, compared eight high-end brands in China: Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Lexus, Volvo, Land Rover, Cadillac and Infiniti.

The findings show that luxury car owners in China were young, highly educated and wealthy. Seventy-six percent of them were men and about 10 percent had spent at least three years overseas.

Eight-hundred owners of the eight car brands from 10 major cities -- including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou -- were surveyed between February and October this year. It was found that they had 1.4 cars each.

The average monthly income of the luxury car owners was 30,000 yuan with their household income reaching 88,000 yuan, according to the report.

The interests of these owners ranged from travel to good food to family activities and sports. Female car owners preferred spas, beauty care, art and had an interest in the environment.

1 Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz owners had the highest income and were considered to be entrepreneurs, cultivated, successful. This was very much in line with how their owners saw themselves.

Visitors look at a Mercedes-Benz C-Class L during the 13th Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, also known as Auto China 2014, in Beijing, April 20, 2014. [Photo/IC]