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No.275 SIM音読用英文

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Hybrids Hit Hard as Auto Sales Slide
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The world's largest car companies took a major hit in December,

many of them seeing sales plunge

by more than one-third;

among them, Japanese automaker Toyota,

which reported a 37 percent drop in sales.


Edmunds.com auto analyst Jesse Toprak says Toyota is struggling

because of the types of cars

consumers are willing to buy.


"In terms of the types of cars that sold in December,

we've seen the consumer preference tilting back

towards SUs and trucks again."


As a result, sales of Toyota's Prius hybrid,

the best selling hybrid in the United States,

tumbled 45 percent in December

compared to the same time last year.


And Toyota was not alone.


Japan's number two automaker, Honda,

saw sales of its hybrid vehicles drop

almost 70 percent in December,

selling only about 1,000

of the high-tech, fuel-efficient cars.


Industry analyst Jesse Toprak says

that while the slumping global economy has hurt all vehicle sales,

trucks and sport utility vehicles outsold cars

because of deep dealer discounts, lower gas prices

and the fact that hybrids cost three to five thousand dollars more

than conventional cars.


"If people know they're gonna save money

by buying a hybrid

they will do so,

otherwise it becomes a tougher sell.


They care most

about the financial 'bottom line.'


And the truth is, despite our strong preference for these vehicles,

when you do the numbers,

right now most hybrid vehicles are still not very good financial
investments."


Toprak says that could affect plans

to help retool America's "Big Three" car companies -

Ford, Chrysler and General Motors.


He says that if U.S. policymakers do not give consumers a financial
incentive

to buy fuel-efficient vehicles,

encouraging Detroit to produce hybrids

will not save the U.S. auto industry.


In the meantime, major car companies around the world are bracing

for more tough months ahead -

suspending operations at some plants,

laying off workers,

and, in the case of Toyota,

stopping construction

of a new hybrid factory in the United States.


Jeff Seldin, VOA News, Washington
by danueno | 2009-01-14 16:07 | SIM音読用英文


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