Over the past year, Japanese automakers have surprised the global car industry by outperforming both European and U.S. rivals as a group in the hyper-kinetic Chinese auto market, the fastest-growing in the world. Japan's six major auto manufacturers operating on the mainland—Honda (HMC), Toyota Motor (TM), Nissan (NSANY), Mazda (MZDAF), Mitsubishi (MMTOF), and Suzuki—have grabbed roughly 27% of the market. Plus, they're coming on strong in 2006 with new product rollouts and capacity expansions.

    Take Honda and Toyota. On Sept. 27, Honda will start selling its RL and TL versions of its Acura luxury sedan. Honda, which enjoys a 5.7% share of the Chinese passenger car market, set up its first joint² venture with Guangzhou Auto Group back in 1998 about a half-decade before Toyota and Nissan became serious about the mainland. It just opened a new factory in Guangzhou in southern China that will have an annual capacity of 120,000 vehicles and make the Accord.

    In addition, Honda already sells Chinese versions of the Fit and City compacts, plus the Odyssey³ minivan and the Civic⁴, with Guangzhou Auto and another joint venture with Dongfeng Motor, the mainland's third biggest domestic manufacturer.

    GOING HIGH-END.  With the RL and TL Acura sedans, Honda is now aiming at the luxury segment and at "rich, high-end consumers," said Honda President Takeo Fukui while attending a press event back in Tokyo regarding the company's latest environmentally friendly concept cars. Both will be imported to China, says Fukui. "We will start off with the Japan-made RL and the North American-made TL models," he says.

    The Acura RL and TL sedans to be sold in China will be similar to the models now sold in the U.S. that retail⁵ there for about $45,000 and $33,000, respectively, according to a Honda spokesman in Shenzhen, where the Japanese automaker will launch its first Acura dealership⁶. The exact retail price in China won't be released until Sept. 27. But sticker prices likely will be 40% higher than in the U.S. due to import duties.

    Meanwhile, Toyota is aiming to ramp⁷ up its China sales 60% this year to 290,000 units and reach a 10% market share by 2010. Toyota's current market share is about 4.5%, according to the first-half estimates by the China Association of Automobile⁸ Manufacturers.

    HUGE ASPIRATIONS⁹.  Recent additions to Toyota's China car lineup include the hybrid-engine Prius, the new Camry, the redesigned RAV4 and Previa, and the Lexus ES350 and IS300 luxury vehicles.

    The Lexus LS460 will make its China debut¹⁰ in November. Toyota Motor President Katsuaki Watanabe said at a press conference in Tokyo in late September that, "A strengthening and expanding product line-up is critical for continued growth in China."

    With the exception of Honda, Japanese automakers were relative latecomers to the game in China. Now it looks as if they have aspirations to dominate. #p#

单词：

    sedan：私家轿车

    joint venture：合资

    luxury：豪华，奢贵

    high-end：高端

    start off with：从…开始，用…开始

    dealership：代理权，经销权

    retail price：零售价

    sticker prices：价目表价格

    hybrid-engine：混合动力型

    press conference：记者招待会

    注释：

    Honda (HMC)： 日本汽车制造商本田汽车(Honda Motor Co., HMC)

    Toyota Motor (TM)： 日本汽车制造商丰田汽车

    Nissan (NSANY)： 日本汽车制造商日产汽车，也叫尼桑。

    Mazda (MZDAF)： 日本马自达汽车公司

    Mitsubishi (MMTOF)： 日本三菱汽车

    Suzuki：日本铃木汽车

    Acura, RL, TL： Acura为本田高档品牌，RL、TL其旗下今年两款最新进口车型

    Prius：日本丰田汽车公司制造的Prius是全球第一种大量生产的环保汽车

    Camry：凯美瑞，又称佳美。中型豪华轿车，持续高踞TOYOTA最畅销的中国车型榜首

    RAV4：1994年在日本问世,销量为丰田公司预期值的两倍。备有三门四座车型，风格独特。

    Previa：普瑞维亚，俗称“大霸王”。是一款九十年代中进入中国的多用途厢体车。

    Lexus ES350, IS300：LEXUS雷克萨斯两款车型