Chinese brands beam at Beijing Auto Show_财经新闻

Chinese brands beam at Beijing Auto Show

文章来源：文章作者：发布时间：2006-11-20 00:19 字体： [大中小]　进入论坛

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A Chinese-made Dongfeng car is on display at the Beijing Auto¹ Show Saturday Nov. 18, 2006.

Nov. 18 - Homegrown Chinese brands occupied the show Saturday at the opening of the Beijing Auto Show, upstaging their bigger and better-known international counterparts with original designs and big ambitions.

"A couple of years ago at the Beijing Auto Show, the (Chinese brands) were like children," said Malcolm Bricklin, a U.S. businessman looking to partner with a Chinese company to make cars for export to North America by the end of 2009.

"Now they are road class, big time. Two years from now, forget about it."

Chinese high-end sedans, hybrids³, roomy SUVs, and convertibles⁴ in rainbow colors competed cheek by jowl with their foreign counterparts and in many cases drew the larger crowds.

"You see some good ones, and you see some that make you scratch your head and wonder," said Philip Murtaugh, executive vice⁵ president of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., or SAIC.

The most remarkable⁶ thing, Murtaugh said, is that the knock-offs of U.S. and European vehicles that dominated the Chinese car industry five years ago are gone, replaced by original designs.

That brought a nod of agreement from Bricklin, whose flamboyant⁷ history as an auto entrepreneur includes importing the ultra-cheap Yugo into the United States in the 1980s and a failed bid to build the Bricklin sports car.

"The Japanese took a long time to get into being original," he said, standing⁸ outside the SAIC display, showcasing the company's highly anticipated Roewe high-end sedan, as well as a hybrid² prototype and their new Ssangyong-branded Kyron SUV.

Chinese brands now account for about one-fifth of mainland sales but the government has said it wants to see homegrown cars take 60 percent of the market share by 2010.

The companies are rising to the challenge, churning out cars that are unique and cheaper than their foreign-made competitors. The next major step will be to export the cars to Europe and the United States -- industry experts expect that will happen in three to five years.

Chinese carmaker Geely Automobile⁹ has said it wants to be selling cars in the United States by the end of 2008.

Bricklin said his company, Visionary Vehicles, is considering a number of partners, including Chinese industry leaders SAIC and First Auto Works as well as the country's fifth-largest automaker, Chery Automobile.

"Two years ago when I went to see Chery, they were a nice young company selling 7,000 cars a month," Bricklin said. "Last month I think they sold 35,000 and they are talking to Chrysler, and talking to Fiat¹⁰ and talking to Alfa. I mean they are moving faster than I can think."

DaimlerChrysler AG executives confirmed on Friday that the company was in talks with Chery to produce a sub-compact car for the Dodge¹¹ brand.

Bill Fisher, a Florida-based entrepreneur was also touring the Beijing Auto Show looking for Chinese cars to bring to the United States.

Fisher, executive vice president of Sarasota-based AmAsia International, said he and his partners have raised $500 million through a private equity¹² fund and now need to find the right Chinese partner.

He said he was impressed by Chery, SAIC, as well as Great Wall and Brilliance¹³. Originally from Detroit, Fisher said he has faced a lot of criticism from friends and family for his plan to bring Chinese cars into the United States.

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收听单词发音

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 hybrid
n.(动，植）杂种，混合物
参考例句：
That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。 The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

3 hybrids
n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 )；杂交植物（或动物）；杂种；（不同事物的）混合物
参考例句：
All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。来自辞典例句 The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的，这种看法是无根据的。来自辞典例句

4 convertibles
n.可改变性，可变化性( convertible的名词复数 )；活动顶篷式汽车
参考例句：
In Washington, the regulators did make a push to ban the manufacturing of convertibles. 华盛顿的各个管制机构曾经推动禁止敝篷车的制造。来自辞典例句 That's why they drive around in half-million-dollar convertibles? 因此他们就不惜花几千万美元来这里居住？来自电影对白

5 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。

6 remarkable
adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的
参考例句：
She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。 These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 flamboyant
adj.火焰般的，华丽的，炫耀的
参考例句：
His clothes were rather flamboyant for such a serious occasion.他的衣着在这种严肃场合太浮夸了。 The King's flamboyant lifestyle is well known.国王的奢华生活方式是人尽皆知的。

8 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。

9 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。

10 fiat
n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布
参考例句：
The opening of a market stall is governed by municipal fiat.开设市场摊位受市政法令管制。 He has tried to impose solutions to the country's problems by fiat.他试图下令强行解决该国的问题。

11 dodge
v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计
参考例句：
A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。 The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

12 equity
n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票
参考例句：
They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。 To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

13 brilliance
n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智
参考例句：
I was totally amazed by the brilliance of her paintings.她的绘画才能令我惊歎不已。 The gorgeous costume added to the brilliance of the dance.华丽的服装使舞蹈更加光彩夺目。

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