The world's car-makers have turned up in droves at the Shanghai auto show. A generation ago there were only a million cars in all of China; now there are thirty three million and that number is expected to quadruple over the next fifteen years.
So auto manufacturers are expecting great things from China and none more so than luxury car-makers. Bentley, Lamborghini and Rolls Royce have all built extensive dealerships here. It was a market that didn't exist a few years ago, but the appearance of home grown millionaires and even billionaires has changed that. Bentley saw its sales in China double last year. Rolls Royce, with cars costing as much as two million dollars, has seen China become its third most important market after the United States and Britain. It plans to double the number of showrooms in China this year.
Beijing is uneasy about such ostentatious displays of wealth, especially as the gap between the rich and poor here continues to grow. A luxury tax on large cars was introduced last year. Coupled with import duties, it means a new Rolls or Bentley bought in China costs double what it would in the United States or Britain. But even that hasn't been enough to stop China's expanding numbers of super rich from buying the cars.
Quentin Sommerville, BBC News, Shanghai
New Words (Từ mới)
turned up in droves
đến, đến dự với số lượng rất lớn
quadruple
tăng gấp bốn lần
dealerships
các cơ sở bán sản phẩm của một công ty nào đó
home grown millionaires
các nhà triệu phú giàu lên từ chính đất nước mình
uneasy
khó chịu, không thoải mái, lo ngại
ostentatious displays of wealth
những trưng bày, phô trương khoe khoang về sự giàu có
A luxury tax
thuế đối với những mặt hàng xa xỉ
Coupled
cùng với, cộng thêm với, gộp lại với
duties
thuế má
super rich
cực giàu