Car babes banned? China wants eyes on cars not models at auto show

When China’s biggest auto show opens in Shanghai this week, the only models on display will be the ones with four wheels.

当本周中国最大车展在上海举办时，展出的“model”将只有四轮车。

Gone, show organizers hope, will be the scantily-clad "car babes" that in previous years have posed provocatively on car hoods and sashayed through the aisles to draw crowds to the 9-day event.

车展主办方希望衣不蔽体的车模从车展上消失，前几年在为期9天的车展上，车模们在车罩旁摆着极具挑逗性的姿势，在走廊上来回走动以吸引观众。

The focus, instead, will be the latest offerings from an array of global car manufacturers, which are pulling out all the stops to compete for Chinese customers in what since 2009 has been the world’s largest car market.

大量全球汽车制造商展出的最新汽车反而会成为焦点，这些制造商正在全力以赴争夺中国消费者，因为自2009年以来，中国就成为世界最大的汽车市场。

"It’s a major industry event for us," said Andrew Boyle, global product communications manager at Rolls Royce.

“对我们而言，这是个主要产业活动，”劳斯莱斯全球产品公关经理安德鲁·博伊尔说道。

It sells several hundred of its super-luxury vehicles in China each year, and in Shanghai this week will launch its latest model, the Phantom Limelight.

劳斯莱斯在中国每年销售几百辆超豪华轿车，本周在上海，他们将展出自己最新车型Phantom Limelight。

Vehicle sales in China totaled 23.5 million units last year, almost a third more than in the United States.

去年，在中国，汽车销售总量达2350万辆，比美国销量多出将近三分之一。

However, the show comes at a turning point for China’s auto market, which is facing a second year of slower growth in 2015 after a decade-long sales and production frenzy.

然而，车展正值中国汽车市场的转折点，因为，在长达十年的生产和销售狂热之后，2015年是中国经济放缓的第二年。

Intense competition for China’s drivers means that car manufacturers are increasingly developing vehicles that cater to Chinese preferences.

在中国的激烈竞争意味着汽车制造商越来越多地研发迎合中国人的偏好的汽车。

Nissan will use Auto China 2015 to unveil the Lannia mid-size sedan, which it says has been specially created for "the rising young Chinese generation."

尼桑将利用2015年北京国际汽车展览会揭开Lannia中型轿车的神秘面纱，据说这是专为“中国新一代年轻人”制造的。

The country’s gearheads have embraced the SUV or sport utility vehicle, sales of which jumped a third last year, and many will feature in the displays planned by dozens of European, Japanese U.S., South Korea and Chinese automakers.

中国的汽车发烧友已接受SUV，即运动型多用途车，去年，其销量上涨三分之一，许多由欧洲，日本，美国韩国和中国汽车制造商计划将这些车在车展上展出。

This year MG, once known for its sleek sports cars and now owned by Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp, enters the fray with its first SUV, the GS, while Ford will give two new luxury SUVs their China market debut -- the Lincoln MKX and Lincoln Navigator, the latter favored by hip hop stars.

今年，曾以时髦跑车闻名现已被上汽收购的莫里斯汽车制造厂携他的第一款SUV，GS进入这场战斗，福特将在中国市场首先展出两款新型奢华SUV，即Lincoln MKX和Lincoln Navigator，后者深受嘻哈巨星欢迎。

"The SUV is popular as a first car," said Raymond Tsang, a Shanghai-based partner at consultancy Bain & Company. "If you only have one, you want one that you can commute in and take on a road trip."

“SUV是最受欢迎的车。” 咨询公司贝恩公司(Bain & Company)驻上海合伙人雷蒙德·曾这样说道。 “如果你只有一辆，你想要一个可以开着上班也可以开着旅行。”

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来源:CNN英语爱语吧作者:Lucia