Beijing, March 26:

A new Chinese tax on luxury cars — imposed in an effort to cut pollution — takes effect from next weekend, but analysts say it should have little impact on either the environment or car sales.

Sport-utility vehicles (SUV) 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.

“These consumers don’t really care about the prices,” Zhang said.

Under the new system, cars will be taxed at three per cent to 20 per cent, depending on engine size, according to the finance ministry of China.

Chinese dealers sold more than three million vehicles last year, but just 3,000 had engines of at least four liters, the target for the maximum tax, Zhang said.