China's auto industry booms as fuel demand drops

In some of the more baffling news we've heard in a while, it seems that China has enjoyed a large increase in car sales this year while the demand for gas has fallen. How does that work, exactly? Some experts imagine newer, more gas efficient cars are replacing older, less efficient ones, while other question whether the government is buying cars up to pump up the industry. Then again, it seems that national gas consumption statistics only focus on figures from the two major state refiners, which makes the whole situation even more obfuscating. We're wondering: as this trend continues, does this mean there will be more or less traffic jams?