Joint Ventures Essential to Auto Industry Innovation

　　With profit margins¹ in the Chinese auto² industry continuing to erode³, a number of joint⁴ ventures are looking toward China's less-developed western regions as an area to shore up their bottom lines.

 

　　CRI's Hu Jia has more.

 

　　Vehicle output in the Chengdu Economic Development Zone for the past year has increased 1.4 times from 2011.

 

　　The joint venture carmaker FAW-Volkswagen, one of the forerunners⁵ in developing the region, says, the figure reaffirms their move, to increase the presence in western China.

 

　　FAW-Volkswagen has just completed its 3 year expansion plan, in Chengdu this year, with full capacity ,now approaching, 250 thousand units.

 

　　It means that every minute, there's a brand-new car rolling off, from its Chengdu assembly line.

 

　　Another Fortune Global 500 ,the premier⁶ car interior supplier - Toyota Boshoku is following the trend to extend to this area, now a booming auto part hub.

 

　　It has established a partnership⁷ with First Automobile⁸ Workshop in Chengdu to provide vehicle seats and interior ornaments⁹ to the Japanese auto giants.

 

　　Wang Lixin, deputy manager of the operation department, says that automotive seating assembly is not that easy.

 

　　"Despite vehicle function production, manufacturing seats requires the most technology. Though seats barely look so, they incorporate many sensors¹⁰ inside, you have to meet the accuracy standard　and meanwhile the bar set for fabric¹¹ and textile is also high."

 

　　High strengths laser welding is used in the shaping, of frames and the sliding channel.

 

　　It asks for excellent metal processing technology.

 

　　Though some of the special materials still rely on imports from Japan, Wang says that auto material development here in China is on its way to catching¹² up.

 

　　"Some progress has been made over the development on car materials recently. We're capable of produce more than 70 percent of the parts here in China."

 

　　Another indicator¹³ for the rising of Chengdu's auto industry goes to the boiling-down deal between homegrown carmaker Geely and the Swedish luxury brand Volvo.

 

　　Volvo Cars China has selected Chengdu as the ideal place for its localized plant after being taken over by Geely.

 

　　Now the factory has started manufacturing the flagship model S 60 L here in China.

 

　　Feng Xuhong is deputy general manager of Geely.

 

　　"Volvo is known for its solidarity¹⁴ and reliability¹⁵. Geely will borrow these technology merits from Volvo in developing its future products."

 

　　Volvo Cars will host a roundtable discussion on the future of transportation at the upcoming Fortune Global Forum¹⁶ this Thursday.

 

　　Meanwhile, Li Shufu, founder¹⁷ and CEO of Geely will also show up and is expected to release some decisions on the group's future.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Hu Jia.

1 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

2 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

3 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 forerunners   

n.先驱( forerunner的名词复数 )；开路人；先兆；前兆

参考例句：

• Country music was undoubtedly one of the forerunners of rock and roll. 乡村音乐无疑是摇滚乐的先导之一。
• Heavy clouds are the forerunners of a storm. 阴云密布是暴风雨的前兆。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

7 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

8 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

9 ornaments   

n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The shelves were chock-a-block with ornaments. 架子上堆满了装饰品。
• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments. 一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

11 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

12 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

13 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

14 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

15 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

16 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

17 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。