Ford to Invest $1 Billion in New India Car Plant

 　　U.S. car maker¹ Ford² will invest nearly $1 billion to establish a new automobile⁴ plant in India.  Ford is the latest in a series of foreign automakers that are seeking to take advantage of one of the world’s fastest growing passenger car markets.

　　Ford’s proposed new plant in the western state of Gujarat is expected to produce about 240,000 vehicles every year and employ about 5,000 people. It is expected to be open by 2014.

　　This will be the company’s second plant in India. It already has one in the southern city of Chennai, where capacity is also being expanded.

　　Ford is not the only automaker to be expanding production facilities in India. Japanese carmaker Toyota announced this week that it will invest $220 million to boost its production.

　　The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers estimates that automakers will invest more than $15 billion over the next two to three years in India with an eye to capturing a larger share of the second fastest growing market in the world.

　　The growth is happening as a rapidly expanding economy propels millions into the middle class. Car sales rose by nearly 30 per cent last year. But despite the burgeoning⁵ sales, the number of cars in India compared to the billion plus population is still very low.

　　“If you look at the penetration⁶ of the Indian market, the Indian penetration is about 10 cars to a 1,000 people," noted⁷ Vishnu Mathur, who heads the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. "In some of the developed countries like U.S. and Europe it is as high as 500. So there is a huge, very high headroom that is available in this country for vehicle sales, and that is the potential that is being looked at by all the international companies when they look at investments in India."

　　Most foreign automakers are rolling out compact cars from their Indian plants. These low cost cars not only dominate the Indian market - demand for them is growing in several other countries. Companies such as Hyundai and Ford are also exporting compact cars from India to Europe, Russia and Latin America.

　　Foreign auto³ companies are not just producing cars in India. They have also begun to invest in design and research centers.

　　The development of the world’s cheapest car, the Nano, by India’s Tata group brought attention to the country’s skills in designing cars. Mathur says India has come to be known as a land of frugal⁸ engineering.

　　“We know how to make cars in a much more competitive manner," Mathur said. "In fact, most of the vehicles which have been designed and developed in India, the overall development cost of these vehicles has been a fraction of what it happens in other countries like U.S. and Europe.”

　　For global automakers, growing sales in countries like India are helping⁹ to make up for slumping¹⁰ sales in many developed countries. Ford’s top official in India, Michael Boneham, says the company will aggressively expand in markets with the most growth potential.

1 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

2 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。

3 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。

4 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。

5 burgeoning   

adj.迅速成长的，迅速发展的v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的现在分词 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

• Our company's business is burgeoning now. 我们公司的业务现在发展很迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These efforts were insufficient to contain the burgeoning crisis. 这些努力不足以抑制迅速扩散的危机。 来自辞典例句

6 penetration   

n.穿透，穿人，渗透

参考例句：

• He is a man of penetration.他是一个富有洞察力的人。
• Our aim is to achieve greater market penetration.我们的目标是进一步打入市场。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 frugal   

adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的

参考例句：

• He was a VIP,but he had a frugal life.他是位要人，但生活俭朴。
• The old woman is frugal to the extreme.那老妇人节约到了极点。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 slumping   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的现在分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Hong Kong's slumping economy also caused a rise in bankruptcy applications. 香港经济低迷，破产申请个案随之上升。
• And as with slumping, over-arching can also be a simple postural habit. 就像弯腰驼背，过度挺直也可能只是一种习惯性姿势。