VOA慢速英语--越南汽车制造商将进军美国电动汽车市场

Vietnamese Carmaker to Enter US Electric Car Market

The automobile² division of Vietnam's largest business group, Vingroup, wants to get involved in the U.S. market.

The group hopes its VinFast cars will be enough to take car buyers away from market leaders like Tesla and General Motors.

VinFast is a recent arrival in automobile markets. It is ranked as the fifth biggest carmaker in Vietnam.

VinFast's chief is Nguyen Thi Van Anh. She told the Reuters news agency recently that the company plans to launch in North America and Europe in 2022. VinFast will join a large number of manufacturers seeking to compete with Tesla.

Standing³ behind VinFast is Vingroup, Vietnam's biggest conglomerate⁴, or multi-industry business group. VinGroup has interests in real estate, schools, hospitals, smartphones and other products.

Even with such strong support, VinFast has difficult competition. Companies such as General Motors, Toyota and Volkswagen have spent tens of billions of dollars to develop electric and driverless vehicles.

The company was established in 2017 with a team led by former General Motors officials. VinFast is aiming to compete on vehicle size and price. It will offer an electric sports utility vehicle, or SUV, that Van Anh described as "more luxurious⁵" than those currently⁶ available.

VinFast cars will also come with a battery leasing⁷ program. Buyers will pay a monthly amount that is close to what the average car buyer might spend on gasoline.

That means the cost of the battery, one of the most expensive parts of an electric car, will not be included in the sales price.

The battery uses cells from South Korea's Samsung SDI. When it is at 70 percent of its full lifespan, VinFast will replace it, Van Anh said. VinFast hopes the ideas will win over American customers.

Difficult competition

Many Asian carmakers have entered the U.S. market with success. Toyota in the 1970s and Hyundai in the 1980s overcame concerns about their products to gain market share from U.S. manufacturers.

VinFast, which has yet to make a profit, faces strong competition.

Bill Russo is head of Automobility Ltd and a former Chrysler official. Russo said VinFast's biggest barrier is persuading "consumers that they have a solid product" and that VinFast cars give good value for the money.

Russo added, "The product itself looks to have the right appearance and features, but this will only get you in the game. Winning requires a technology or business model edge over the competition."

Michael Dunne is chief of automotive advisory⁸ company ZoZo Go.

Dunne said no electric vehicle maker¹ can compete with Tesla in the near future.

But Dunne added, "...the good news is that companies like VinFast do not have to beat Tesla to win." He said that the company only needs to get some car buyers who bought gasoline-powered cars to change over to electric cars.

VinFast has hired Jeremy Snyder to help them grow. He worked for Tesla for ten years.

Snyder told Reuters he was VinFast's first employee in the United States. Between full-time⁹ employees and temporary workers, the company now has about 100 workers in the U.S.

"It's very exciting to bring Vietnam and the United States closer through VinFast," he said.

Words in This Story

luxurious – adj. very comfortable and expensive : richly appealing

battery – n. a device that is placed inside a machine (such as a clock, toy, or car) to supply it with electrical power

lifespan – n. the amount of time that a living thing lives; the amount of time a machine is expected to operate

customer – n. a person who buys good and services

feature – n. an interesting or important part, quality or ability

1 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

2 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。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

5 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

6 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

7 leasing   

出租业务

参考例句：

• Many more firms are selling the buildings in which their factories are, and leasing them back. 许多公司把工厂的建筑卖出去，然后再租回来使用。
• "Are you thinking of leasing your factory or selling out? 你是想出租呢出盘呀？ 来自子夜部分

8 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

9 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。