2007年VOA标准英语-Car Industry Booming in China

By Mil Arcega
Washington, DC
15 June 2007
 

Automakers are ramping² up their operations in China to take advantage of record-breaking growth in vehicle sales. China replaced Japan last year as the world's second-biggest auto¹ market, and industry experts predict the growth will continue as the country's booming economy encourages greater consumption of luxury goods. VOA's Mil Arcega reports.

For automakers, China is the new frontier:  the world's fastest growing market with millions of new consumers. Even more attractive to foreign retailers⁴ is the emerging class of young successful Chinese.

"This new group, which they define as 'Tweens' - it's a combination of the words teens and in-between," says Charlotte Rylme, general manager at the Swedish Trade Council. "They have a new job, they earn a lot of money, and they live and stay at home with their parents, some of them, and they are very attracted to buy foreign brands, so they are very attractive for foreign retail³ companies. And they buy more than 300 billion RMB ($40 billion) annually⁵."

Charlotte Rylme

They are also buying a lot of cars.  More than 7 million new cars were sold in China last year.  This year the number is expected to surpass 8.5 million. 

Swedish carmaker Volvo expects to double its sales in China this year.  Company  Vice⁶ President Lex Kerssemakers says in China, having a good brand is the key to success. "You see people walking around here with all sorts of branded stuff, from sunglasses to jeans to trousers," he says. "So they are very brand focused.  Volvo has a good reputation here from the past, and what we need to do is, we need to continue to build on that reputation and strengthen our premium⁷ in a market which will be very premium oriented."

Although the competition is fierce, car dealer⁸ Eddie Lai says Chinese consumers like to buy cars that show how worldly and how successful they are. "The economy is growing, the society is growing, and young people are getting more on an uptrend scale," he says, "and they are going to fit into the lifestyle as in the European countries and American country, and it's the status symbol in China.  It is a status symbol for the young generation to demonstrate that they are successful, that they are intelligent, that they are up on society's expectations."

Carmakers are capitalizing on those expectations by increasing production quotas⁹.  While factories are closing in North America and Europe, new plants go up almost daily in China.  Industry executives project the Chinese market could grow to 20 million vehicles per year by 2020.

1 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。

2 ramping   

土堤斜坡( ramp的现在分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• The children love ramping about in the garden. 孩子们喜欢在花园里追逐嬉戏，闹着玩。
• Have you ever seen a lion ramping around? 你看到过狮子暴跳吗？

3 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

4 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

5 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

8 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

9 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。