Buick in China
The first Buick model off the line was just the beginning of General Motors long march into the Chinese market. A total of 23,000 cars rolled out of the factory in 1999. This year, Shanghai GM Buick aims to produce 50,000 cars.
It is interesting to review the long negotiations with the Chinese government to set up Shanghai GM Buick. The biggest issue was who would supply the car parts and how the parts would get from the factory to the Buick plant.
A car is made up of more than 30,000 parts. Parts manufacturers in China dont have the technological know-how to make all the necessary parts. Therefore, at the beginning, about half the necessary parts will be shipped to Shanghai from North America. These parts are made at GMs Tillsonburg. Ontario facility. The trains carry the parts over 3,000 miles to the Port of Vancouver. From Vancouver, the parts are shipped to Shanghai. All told, the door-to-door delivery time is 17 days. But there may be a 42-day delay between steel plates leaving the steel works in America and arriving in Shanghai. To prevent the long-distance shipping and delay, Shanghai GM Buick has asked Shanghai Baoshan steelworks to produce plates of similar quality.
Imported car parts are our biggest headache, says Jay Hunt, local suppliers are very responsive. To our surprise, however, the cost of localized production is much higher than buying from overseas. The reason is that although labor costs are low in China, wages comprise only 20% of the cost of producing car parts. Small-scale production in China makes production costs very high. The deputy general manager, Laurence Zahner said, Only if the price of domestic parts drops 30% shall we be able to qualify for the international market.
Thankfully, a solution has appeared. Foreign car parts makers are coming to the Yangtse River Delta to set up joint ventures. Shanghai GM Buick will depend on those parts makers for car parts. Perhaps the Buick plant will not worry about the agreement with the Chinese partner any longer. The agreement says that in the first year of production, the Buick plant must have 42% of locally made parts, and in the second year, the locally made parts rise to 60%, and in the third year, 80%.
1. What was the biggest issue in the negotiation between the Chinese government and General Motors?
A) Annual production of cars.
B) The location of Shanghai GM Buick.
C) Car parts and their shipment.
D) The price of domestic car parts.
2. How many car parts is a car made up of?
A) 23,000
B) 30,000
C) 50,000
D) 62,000
3. Who was the first supplier of the car parts to Shanghai GM Buick?
A) Baosteel steelworks.
B) Joint ventures in China.
C) GMs Tillsonburg.
D) The Buick plant in the Yangtse River Delta.
4. How does Shanghai GM Buick feel about the agreement on localization with Chinese partner?
A) Disappointed.
B) Hesitated.
C) Unhappy.
D) Confident.
5. With foreign car parts makers coming to the Yangtse River Delta, how does Shanghai GM Buick feel about the localized production of car parts?
A) The production cost is too high.
B) To carry out the agreement on localized production is impossible.
C) The quality of localized car parts must be improved.
D) The localization agreement can be carried out without any problem.
答案: CBCAD
名师总结历年四级高频词组(3)
大学英语四级考试(CET4)词汇训练1200题
英语四级考试完形填空模拟训练(一)
备战英语四级:阅读常遇到的科学论文词汇
经典收藏:大学英语四级考试历年高频词组
细致见真功,差别定成败――新四级易混词辨析
英语四级高频词汇每天20个(16)
大学英语四级考试常用形容词同介词的搭配
英语四级考试历年词汇语法真题及答案大集合
英语四级语法复习:延续动词与瞬间动词
专项训练:大学英语四级词汇精练240题
大学英语四级考试改错题常考要点:介词
12月英语四级考试最新预测试卷(选词填空)
大学英语四级考试(CET4)词汇训练1200题(2)
英语四级句子词汇真题训练及详解(一)
大学英语四级考试选词填空4招必杀技
考前最后复习:英语四级高频短语及搭配
击退拦路虎英语四级篇章词汇结构题攻略
考前必看:英语四级考试常考的句型
句型分析的重要性(一)
英语四级考试词汇必备之“形相近意相远”
攻克英语四级最后九十天备考新四级常考短语
大学英语新四级考试篇章词汇结构题全攻略
新大学英语四级词汇备考攻略重视高频单词
如何对付鸡肋般的四级词汇题
英语四级备考攻略:四级补充资料
选择填空新四级选择高分攻略(下)
英语四级考试篇章词汇题8招识别常见干扰
四级写作中绝对用得到的关键词汇及短语汇总
学习由whose引导的定语从句及语法句型
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |