英字新聞

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 17(IHT/Asahi: November 18,2009)
EDITORIAL: China's auto industry.
車年産１千万台―中国は緑色革命に弾みを

From January through October, China's automobile output and sales both exceeded 10 million units. The figures could each top 13 million by the end of this year, which would make China the world's top vehicle maker as well as largest sales market for the first time. Currently, the United States leads the world in sales, and Japan in production.
　中国での自動車の生産、販売台数が１月から１０月までの合計で、ともに１千万台を超えた。年間では１３００万台を超える可能性もある。販売では米国、生産では日本を抜き、いずれも初めて世界一になる。

New vehicle sales in China grew sixfold in the last decade. In sharp contrast, the U.S. market shrank rapidly after the global economic meltdown forced General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC to file for bankruptcy. Japanese automakers, which had depended on the U.S. market for growth, also slumped.
　新車販売台数はこの１０年で６倍に膨らんだ。世界経済危機でゼネラル・モーターズやクライスラーの経営が破綻（はたん）し、急速にしぼんだ米国市場や、そこに依存して伸びてきた日本メーカーの疲弊ぶりと対照的な勢いだ。

China is expected to overtake Japan in terms of gross domestic product next year at the earliest--an achievement befitting a nation that is now seen as a new engine to drive global economic growth. But given the grave impact of a bloating Chinese auto market on energy resources and the environment, the situation signals the urgency of technological renovation to shift to non-gasoline cars.
　来年にも国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）が日本を追い抜く中国。世界経済の新たな成長エンジンとして寄せられた期待に応える実績だろう。だが同時に、資源や環境への影響の深刻さを考えると、中国自動車市場の急膨張は、「脱ガソリン車」への技術革新をせかすシグナルでもある。

China's Communist Party and government have actively promoted the auto industry for its huge potential to create jobs and push technological development in a broad range of sectors. Expressways built in China over the last decade are more than six times longer than the total in Japan.
　中国共産党・政府は雇用や技術開発のすそ野が広い自動車産業を重視してきた。高速道路はここ１０年で、日本の総延長の６倍を超える距離を整備した。

When China's annual vehicle production reached the 10-million mark for the first time last month, the occasion was celebrated with a new model of the Jiefang (Liberation) truck rolling off the assembly line at state-owned China FAW Group Corp.
１千万台目には、国有企業が生産してきた中国製トラック「解放」の現代版を選び、派手に祝った。

Passenger cars became the market mainstay a few years ago. Rising income levels in China have made them affordable to more citizens. With the emergence of domestic automakers, inexpensive passenger cars have become available. The government has been promoting sales with tax breaks and subsidies for buyers.
　市場の主力は、すでに数年前から乗用車だ。所得水準が向上し、マイカーに手の届く人が増えた。国内メーカーの台頭で安い乗用車も出回るようになった。政府の購入補助や減税措置が消費を後押しした面もある。

In 2008, China's per-capita GDP topped $3,000 (about 267,000 yen)--the watershed that turns a nation into a mass consumer society. Japan got there in the early 1970s.
　中国の１人あたりＧＤＰは０８年、３千ドルを超えた。大衆消費社会へ生活様式の変わり目となるとされる水準だ。日本では７０年代初めにあたる。

With car ownership still less than 5 percent today, China is on the threshold of motorization.
　自動車普及率は５％足らずで、なおモータリゼーションの入り口にある。

According to International Monetary Fund projections, China will have roughly doubled its per-capita GDP by around 2015. New vehicle sales at that time are expected to increase to 15 million units, comparable with sales in the reviving U.S. market. The figure in China is estimated to reach about 20 million around 2020.
国際通貨基金の予測によると、２０１５年ごろに中国の１人あたりＧＤＰは現在の約２倍になる。中国の新車販売はそのころ、１５００万台規模に復活する米国と並び、２０２０年ごろには２千万台規模となるとみられている。

That's effectively double the scale of today's Chinese market. And if 20th-century-type gasoline cars are still the mainstay, the massive energy consumption and environmental destruction that will result are too horrendous to even consider.
　いまの中国市場がもうひとつできるようなものだ。ガソリンエンジンに頼った２０世紀型の自動車が主流のままでは、すさまじい資源消費と環境破壊に直面するだろう。

Beijing is aware of the need to save energy and protect the environment if the nation's auto industry is to keep growing. The Chinese government has taken measures, including more stringent fuel-efficiency requirements, tax breaks for small cars and support for the development of electric vehicles and other green cars. It has also begun improving rail, subway and other mass public transport services. These efforts must be enhanced.
　中国共産党・政府も、成長の持続には省エネと環境保護が重要だとして、燃費規制の強化や小型車向け減税に加え、電気自動車など「環境車」の開発支援に取り組んでいる。鉄道や地下鉄など公共交通網の整備にも力を入れるようになった。こうした施策はさらに強める必要がある。

The Chinese auto market has become a battleground where Japanese, U.S., European, South Korean--and now Chinese--automakers are engaged in cutthroat competition.
　中国市場は、日米欧韓に加えて中国メーカーがしのぎを削る大競争の舞台だ。

To survive in this burgeoning market, we hope Japanese makers, which have been leading the world in gas-electric hybrid and other clean-car technologies, will remain leaders in the "green revolution" by using their technological expertise to offer affordable green cars and help the auto industry grow without sacrificing the environment.
ハイブリッド車を軸に環境車でリードしてきた日本メーカーは、頼もしい中国市場に活路を見いだすためにも、蓄えた技術を手の届く価格で商品にし、環境と発展を調和させる「緑色革命」の先導役を担ってほしい。