2018年CRI Electric cars unveiled at Beijing Motor Show

 

Automakers are rolling out their new electric vehicles at the 2018 Beijing Motor Show, the motor industry's biggest sales event this year.

Carmakers expect new growth in China's market despite the looming² threat of a trade war between China and the US.

Germany's BMW is unveiling its new all-electric concept vehicle, the iX3.

Company Chairman Harald Kruger says it will go into production in 2020 and will be made in China.

The car will be made at the automakers' joint³ venture plant in Shenyang.

BMW Board Member Nicolas Peter says he is optimistic the project will be shielded from any negative impact despite mounting trade tensions between China and the United States.

"We have a very strong presence in China. We are increasing now capacity beyond 500,000 cars per year. We are in discussion with our joint venture partner to localise even more products and on the other hand side we have a strong footprint in Europe and in the US, so we can be very flexible in this global production network. Of course, we appreciate free trade because we believe that this is beneficial at the end of the day for everyone in the world, but we can react fast to adapt to changes." 

The Beijing Motor Show is the world's largest auto¹ show, with car manufacturers unveiling a kaleidoscope of fuel efficient vehicles – in particular electric cars designed for the China market. 

Stats show China accounted for half of last year's global electric car sales.

Hans Greiml, Asia Editor for Automotive News, says the big theme of the event is the proliferation of SUVs, crossovers and electric vehicles.

"Everybody's coming out with some kind of electric vehicle or crossover because they are two main segments of the market here that are really booming. Everybody wants to buy a crossover because it's very popular, and in China everybody has to introduce an EV (electric vehicle) because of government mandates⁴, so there are two forces driving these trends."

Stats from China Association of Automobile⁵ Manufacturers show first-quarter sales of electrics and gasoline-electric hybrids⁷ rose over 150 percent over a year earlier to over 140,000 units.

That compares with sales of just under 200,000 for all of last year in the United States, the No. 2 market.

China's total sales of SUVs, sedans and minivans reached nearly 25 million units last year.

Ford⁸ is showing its Mondeo Energi plug-in hybrid⁶, its first electric model for China, which went on sale in March. 

Trevor Worthington, Vice⁹ President of Product Development at Ford Asia Pacific.

"I would say that Chinese customers are at the leading edge of expectations of connectivity with the greater eco-system than any other customers in the world. I think the work we're doing here in China, we know that it's going to serve the rest of the Ford global world well, but it really is all here. The expectation of connectivity, the expectation of navigation, native voice, the expectation of being able to pay bills, being able to organise¹⁰ parking, remotely unlocking or locking the car, remotely starting the car, this vehicle has many, many technology features that work in partnership¹¹ with that level of connectivity."

Industry analysts¹² say the top Chinese brands are catching¹³ up with their global rivals in electrics.

Chery Automobile showed a lineup that included two electric sedans, an SUV and a hatchback, all promising¹⁴ 250 to 400 kilometres on a charge. 

They include futuristic features such as internet-linked navigation and smartphone-style dashboard displays.

Chery was China's biggest auto exporter last year, selling over 100,000 gasoline-powered vehicles abroad.

James Chao, Asia-Pacific chief at consultancy IHS Markit, says competition in the sector¹⁵ will be even more intense in the future.

"I think in China the two biggest challenges are, number one: there is or will be hyper-competition here. There's so many new brands coming online, and the old brands here in China are getting better, so hyper-competition is the rule here. Number two is how do you, as an automaker, comply with regulations which are actually very hard to meet and potentially changing also."

Ford and other brands showed off some of the dozens of electric SUVs, sedans and other models they say are planned for China.

The motor show runs until May 4.

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 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 mandates   

托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Individual mandates would require all people to purchase health insurance. 个人托管要求所有人都要购买健康保险。
• While I agree with those benefits, I'm not a supporter of mandates. 我同意上述好处，我不是授权软件的支持者。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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

8 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

9 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。

10 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。

11 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

12 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

13 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

14 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

15 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。