Hong Kong - In a city that has a higher proportion of Rolls- Royces than anywhere else in the world, soaring fuel prices have led motorists to shun luxury, petrol-guzzling cars in favour of fuel efficient vehicles, a media report said Monday.

Sales of new cars such as Mercedes Benz and BMW with engines of 3,500cc or larger have fallen about 5 per cent since May when oil topped 120 dollars a barrel, the South China Morning Post said.

"The trend was even more apparent in the second-hand market, which saw a drop of about 7 per cent in price for BMW sedans and its comparable middle-price series," said James Kong, vice-president of the Hong Kong Automobile Association.

He added: "Some second-hand car dealers actually stopped buying these cars as sales became very stale."

One motor trader bought a 2006 Mercedes Benz S350 saloon for 500,000 Hong Kong dollars (64,100 dollars), hoping to resell it to a dealer for 650,000 Hong Kong dollars, 
13 per cent below the normal market price.

But even though a new S350 costs 1.3 million Hong Kong dollars and a two-year-old model can sell for up to 900,000 Hong Kong dollars, no dealer wanted to buy the car.

By comparison, sales of cars with engines less than 1,000cc and energy-efficient hybrid cars have soared.

Crown Motors, the only official dealer of the four kinds of hybrid cars available in Hong Kong, has sold an average of 100 vehicles a month in the first six months of this year, a 71 per cent increase over the same period last year.

"More consumers are choosing hybrid cars now than a few years ago, not only because they are getting cheaper and more diverse but purchasers are gaining in awareness of the vehicles' fuel efficiency as oil prices kept rising," said Crown Motors assistant marketing manager Godwin Ching.

A government scheme that offers tax incentives of up to 50,000 Hong Kong dollars to people who buy from a list of environmentally- friendly petrol-powered and hybrid cars has also helped boost sales. (dpa)