Changing of the guard at luxury car companies in China

Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, sold more luxury cars than both its rivals Audi and BMW in July－165,321 vehicles－in China in the first half of the year, a 21.6 percent rise year-on-year.

However, it too replaced its president and CEO in Beijing Frank Deiss with Peter Schabert, its global head of engine production.

While at Jaguar Land Rover China, whose sales plunged 46 percent year-on-year in June with 45,445 autos sold in the first half of the year, Bob Grace, the former president of the company, ended a five-year term in July to be moved to develop the company's Europe market. Grace's successor is yet to be announced, and media reports have also suggested the automaker's executive vice-president Che Yanhua is about to leave.

According to the latest data from the China Passenger Car Association, new car deliveries delcined 2.5 percent in July this year to 1.3 million units, the lowest level since February 2014.