Is that the squeal of brakes?It seems counter intuitive, but investors are backing out of the world's biggest car market.

听上去不大可能，但投资者正在从全球最大汽车市场撤退。

According to Bloomberg data published Friday, the average price to earnings ratio of Hong Kong listed Chinese automotive companies has slipped to 9.7 times, from over 14 times in December 2012.

彭博(Bloomberg)周五发布的数据显示，在港上市中资汽车股的平均市盈率，已从2012年12月的14下滑至9.7。

The wider MSCI China index is trading at 10.2 times earnings.

而摩根士丹利资本国际中国指数(MSCI China index)成份股的平均市盈率为10.2。

This is the first time the car companies have underperformed the market since September 2011, according to Bloomberg's figures.

彭博数据显示，这是中资汽车股自2011年9月以来首次表现落后于市场平均水平。

China's economy is still growing at above 7 per cent. And McKinsey predicts urban Chinese households will double their incomes by 2022.

中国经济增速仍保持在7%之上。麦肯锡(McKinsey)预测，到2022年，中国城市家庭的收入将翻一番。

But China's domestic auto makers are in an unenviable spot, thanks to government policies that - probably unintentionally on Beijing's part - are conspiring to make it easier for Chinese consumers to buy the foreign-made vehicles they tend to prefer.

但中国政府近期的一系列政策却让国内汽车制造商处境尴尬。这些政策让原本就更青睐外国产汽车的中国消费者更容易买到进口车——尽管这可能不是政策的初衷。

President Xi Jinping's government is restricting officials' car purchases as part of a wider campaign against bureaucratic waste and corruption.

作为最近反腐败反浪费行动的一部分，习近平政府正在限制官员购车。

This, forecasts Jefferies analyst Zhi Aik Yeo, will lead to up to 800,000 existing government vehicles being auctioned off to the public. Many of these are likely to be Audis, the bureaucrat's model of choice and a brand that in China is therefore associated with status and power.

杰佛瑞(Jefferies)分析师Zhi Aik Yeo预测，上述举动可能导致80万辆公务车向社会公开拍卖，其中许多可能是奥迪(Audi)。奥迪是中国政府公务车首选品牌，在中国是地位和权势的象征。

The increase in the supply of second hand European cars could dissuade people from buying new Chinese vehicles.

二手欧洲车供应增多，可能会减少人们对国产新车的购买。

The Beijing government has also mounted what it calls "anti-trust" investigations against multinational automotive groups.

中央政府近期还对跨国汽车集团启动了“反垄断”调查。

But domestic car makers will not exactly be protected by the move. The government is pushing foreign car brands to charge cheaper prices in China, which again could increase ownership of their vehicles.

但这一举动恰恰无法保护国内汽车制造商，因为中国政府力促外国汽车品牌降低在华售价，反而会让更多中国人购买外国车。

Signs of pain are everywhere.

很多迹象表明，中国汽车厂商已经开始面对更艰难处境。

Geely, the Chinese car maker and owner of Volvo, revealed in its latest financial results that domestic sales of its own-brand cars plummeted by 40 per cent, year on year, in July.

沃尔沃(Volvo)的拥有者、中国汽车制造商吉利(Geely)在最新财报中披露，今年7月，其自有品牌汽车在国内市场的销量大跌40%。

And Great Wall, a Chinese SUV maker, said in its annual report released in March:

中国运动型多功能车(SUV)制造商长城(Great Wall)在3月发布的年报中也表示，随着国内自主品牌推出更多新产品，市场竞争正在进一步加剧。