2015年CRI SUVs Sales Boom in China Auto Market

 

The Guanghzhou Auto¹ Show, one of China's biggest auto shows, is getting underway.

Domestic and foreign players in the auto market are taking part in the event, putting the spotlight² on SUVs.

Yale Zhang, Automotive Foresight³'s Managing Director, says many auto brands, such as Ford's Everest and Great Wall Motor Co's Haval H7, have shifted their focus to larger SUVs, especially since China scrapped⁴ the one-child policy:

"We clearly see a lot of families want to shift from sedans to SUVs because of their safety, comfort and also bigger room. Because now you will have a family, you have a child, you know SUV obviously is better. Even if you have two kids, SUV looks better than a sedan. So this is one of the reason why SUV in China is very popular and still growing."

In the year through October, sales of SUVs surged 46 percent year-on-year in a broader market that grew 1.5 percent.

According to Automotive Foresight, a market and industry research company, 32 new SUV models are expected to be released in China for 2015.

Wu Song, General Manager of Guangzhou Automobile⁵ Group (GAC Motor), says he expects Chinese brands will hit a big growth in the auto market next year, despite the country's slowest economic growth in decades:

"Next year the speed of the Chinese auto market's growth will be roughly the same as this year. I estimate it will also be a small increase. But the structure of consumption will undergo a deep change, like it has this year. From January to October the market grew six percent, but for Chinese brands the growth was higher. So I think next year the car market will grow by ten percent or less, I'd estimate at the level of five to six percent,"

Meanwhile, China's official stats show that car prices dropped 3.4 percent in the first nine months of this year, outpacing the 1.2 percent decline for passenger vehicles overall.

HIS Automotive, an interests group for car manufacturers, predicts car sales growth is expected to slip to 11 percent next year.

Analysts⁶ at Fitch Ratings, an international ratings agency, warns that new SUVs will have a tougher time commanding fat profit margins⁷ they may have enjoyed in recent years.

Automotive Foresight's Yale Zhang, however, disagrees, saying there is still room for growth in the Chinese market, especially in big cities:

"The market actually slow down a little bit this year because of the economy and also the stock market crisis. But overall the market has not really been saturated⁸. It probably is in some larger cities, but in the majority of China cities there are plenty of room for the automobiles⁹ to grow further,"

Carmakers like Volkswagen have expressed eagerness to expand investment in the Chinese market, with six new locally made models to be launched in the next three to four years.

For CRI, this is Ryan Price.

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 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

3 foresight   

n.先见之明，深谋远虑

参考例句：

• The failure is the result of our lack of foresight.这次失败是由于我们缺乏远虑而造成的。
• It required a statesman's foresight and sagacity to make the decision.作出这个决定需要政治家的远见卓识。

4 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

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 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。

7 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

8 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

9 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》