Facing record auto industry losses and with thousands of jobs on the line, Britain has launched a new car incentive program aimed at spurring sales. Under the deal, qualified motorists will get a $3,000 discount on the purchase of a new vehicle.
面临着汽车业行情的低落，数以千计的汽车员工被裁员，英国推出了一个汽车奖励计划，目的在于刺激销售额。在这项计划的激励下，符合条件的驾驶人在购买新车的时候，可以得到3千美元的价格优惠。
Given the depth of the problems facing the auto sector around the world, one answer to moving cars out of the showrooms seems to be spreading.
针对全球性汽车行业面对的困境，如何让汽车从展厅开走的一个答案似乎正在开始流传开来。
What began in Germany and spread to France and Italy has now moved to Britain. The idea is a joint government-manufacturer incentive plan to give consumers with old car trade-ins a $3,000 cash back deal on the purchase of any new car.
首先从德国开始，传播到法国和意大利，现在又进入了英国。这个方案是政府和企业携手合作推出的奖励计划，让购车人用原有的旧车作为交换，不管买什么样的新车时就可以得到3千美元现金。
The $450 million program is designed to boost plummeting car sales in Britain that will in turn help to save auto sector jobs. A secondary benefit is getting gas-guzzling old clunkers off the road and replaced with more fuel-efficient band new models.
这项总计高达4亿5千万美元的奖励项目为的是增加英国衰落的汽车销售量，反过来希望可以拯救汽车行业的工作机会。 一个间接的好处是将大量耗油的老旧汽车从道路上清除，代之以更新型、更有效使用燃料的新汽车。
In order to participate in the plan, car buyers like Georgie need to trade in a car that is at least 10-years old.
要参加这项计划，购车人必须将自己10年以上的旧车带来进行换购。这名名叫乔治的先生就符合要求。
"I heard about the new scheme when it was announced in the budget and my car qualified as old enough," said Georgie. "So I thought, if I was going to buy a new car, this would be a good time."
他说：“宣布预算刺激方案的时候我就听说了这个新计划。我的车很老了，符合计划的要求。所以我想，如果我要买新车，现在是个好机会。”
Under the deal, half of the $3,000 discount comes from the government, the other half comes from the car manufacturer.
在这个奖励计划中，3千美元的优惠一般来自政府，另一半来自汽车生产厂家。
And while it may not solve all of the problems facing the industry today, people like Jon Pollock, the marketing manager of Toyota G.B. say it is a program that will help.
尽管这种做法可能无法解决当前汽车工业面临的所有问题，但是人们说这个做法会有帮助。销售市场经理珀洛克就持这样的观点。
"The scrappage scheme will bring incremental business to the market. We are indeed already seeing that," said Pollock. "Is it the panacea solution to the economic crisis and the car market in the U.K.? I think that is more debatable, but we have to be honest that anything that does bring new people to market has got to be good news to the economy and has got to be good news to the market in Britain."
帕洛克说：“这项以旧换新的计划将给市场带来业务增加。我们的确正在看到这种局面。这是解决经济危机和英国汽车市场面临问题的灵丹妙药吗？我认为，这是个比较有争议的问题，不过我们不得不承认，只要能给市场带来新顾客对经济一定是好消息，对英国的市场一定是好消息。”
In Germany, a similar program boosted sales by 20 percent. For the first four months of 2009, new car sales in Britain were down nearly 30 percent, so there is much hope the incentive plan can persuade some to purchase now.
在德国，一项类似的计划将销售额提高了20%。2009年头四个月，英国新车销售下降近30%，因此人们对这项刺激计划能够说服一些人现在买新车非常有把握。
The program is scheduled to run through next March.
这项刺激计划预定一直施行到明年3月。
Other countries will be watching with interest. Japan is considering its own plan, but with incentives there aimed more at selling hybrids and electric-car options.
其它国家正在以极大的兴趣关注着这一计划。日本在考虑实施自己的刺激计划，不过日本主要希望通过刺激计划销售更多的油电混合动力车和各种电动车型。
In the United States, a vote in Congress is expected in the coming weeks that could authorize up to $4,500 to individuals who trade in vehicles in what has become known as the "cash for clunkers" bill.
在美国，国会预计在今后几个星期内进行一项表决，这项被称为以旧换新补助计划的法案可能向以旧换新的个人提供4500美元。
According to USA Today, the price tag of getting such a program up and running in America would be around about $4 billion.
据今日美国报报导，这项计划从筹备到在全美国实施需要大约40亿美元。 |