The world is a pretty dark place right about now, with lockdown orders issued over a large percentage of the globe, manufacturers shutting down, and even historical motorsports events being canceled. And the dark times are set to continue, with the fallout for car manufacturers expected to be massive and sales initially expected to plummet. But it's not all bad, and there's a glimmer of hope that we might recover better than anticipated.

Reports from The Japan Times have indicated that car sales are beginning to boom again in Wuhan, China - the place of origin of the coronavirus pandemic - with Audi noticing a particularly large up-turn in sales of models like the Audi A3 sedan and Audi Q5 SUV.

Once the virus started spreading, Wuhan went into lockdown, and car dealers were effectively shut down for two months. But now sales seem to be booming as if buyers were simply waiting it out before going ahead with their pre-planned purchases in any case.

Daily sales numbers have eclipsed anything pre-lockdown, defying the odds and the notion that sales would simply freeze up in the economic aftermath of it all. China is the world's largest car market, and boasts the world's largest population, with the USA falling second and third in both metrics respectively. It's a good sign that the US sales market may follow suit once the storm has blown over, with a number of American brands already benefitting from Wuhan's increase in sales.

Cadillac has been among the companies to see record foot-traffic through dealer doors, showing that while people may have been careful during lockdown, they're now willing to treat themselves and spend on something big. Audi and BMW have also seen big growth in China, with BMW suggesting that the trends pointed to "a sustainable recovery". While it is still early days, maybe there's a ray of sunshine, after all, proving just how resilient mankind is.