密歇根新闻广播 中国正在进军汽车行业

 

Detroit is rightly seen as the center of the U.S. auto¹ industry. But looking ahead into the years to come, the Motor City can expect to see competition from an increasingly influential² player in the industry: China.

Detroit News business columnist³ Daniel Howes says Chinese companies are approaching U.S. markets slightly differently than other foreign companies that have built on American soil.

Howes says companies like Toyota, Honda, and Volkswagen used the success of their car models to build a brand in the United States. Toyota is now larger than Fiat-Chrysler in the American market.

“The Chinese look at this and say, ‘The fastest way for us to get credibility globally is to buy our way into the party,'” Howes said. “And in 2010, [the Chinese auto manufacturer] Geely bought Volvo from Ford⁴ Motor Company.”

The Taiwanese company Foxconn is, according to Howes, the largest contract manufacturer in the world, with most of its operations based in China. It is a contractor⁵ to Apple and helps manufacturer its smartphones and other devices.

These days, the company is being courted by states in the Midwest trying to land a Foxconn plant based in the United States. Foxconn agreed to open a facility in Wisconsin, but Michigan still hopes to land a plant too.

Howes says American firms and governmental agencies are not necessarily setting the pace of business anymore.

“Chinese government policy is driving a lot of this,” Howes said. “The industry that we know here in Detroit, a lot of the decisions that are being made about future product, future power-trains, and future market investment is being driven essentially⁶ by Chinese consumers and the Chinese government.”

American manufacturers are also spending more time and resources in Chinese markets. Howes says GM has 17 plants in China. And earlier in the year, Ford announced it would be moving production of its Focus model compact car to China and shipping⁷ it to the U.S. for sale.

Listen to the entire conversation with Daniel Howes, Detroit News business columnist, above.

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 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

4 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。

5 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

6 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

7 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。