日本車廠陷困境
China’s rapid shift toward electric vehicles has been sending ripples through the country’s automotive industry.
中國迅速朝向電動車發展的趨勢已在該國汽車產業掀起漣漪。
rapid(adj.)迅速的shift(n.)轉變send ripples引起漣漪、引起連鎖反應
One of the most recent casualties of increasing Chinese EV demand is Honda Motor Co., which announced in late November that it had “decided to cut 900 jobs at a joint venture in China.”
本田汽車是中國電動車需求增長的最新受害者之一，該公司於11月底宣布「決定在中國的合資企業裁員900人」。
casualty(n.)(嚴重事故或戰爭中的)傷亡人員、受害者、遇難者joint venture合資企業joint effort共同努力
This move comes just one month after fellow Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors said it would be pulling out of car production in China due to slumping sales.
此舉發生在同為日本汽車製造商的三菱汽車宣布，由於銷量下滑，將退出在中國的汽車生產僅一個月之後。
pull out of撤出=withdraw fromdue to因此=owing to=as a result ofslump(v.)(價格、價值或銷售額)猛跌、突然下降=plummet
According to Honda’s announcement, the layoffs will affect approximately 7% of the 13,000 workers at GAC Honda Automobile Co., which is operated jointly with China’s government-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.
根據本田的公告，這次裁員將影響廣汽本田汽車1.3萬名員工中的約7%，這家公司是本田和中國國有廣州汽車集團合資經營的。
approximately(adv.)大約=around=aboutoperate(v.)經營、運營=runjointly(adv.)共同地
Despite reports noting that only contract workers hired for auto assembly jobs through employment agencies would be affected, the layoffs are significant as they mark the first time that workers have ever been let go from GAC Honda since the venture began in 1998.
儘管有報導指出，受到影響的只有透過職業介紹所雇用的汽車裝配約聘人員，但此次裁員仍意義重大，因為這是自1998年合資項目啟動以來，廣汽本田首次有員工被解雇。
despite(prep.)儘管assemble(v.)組裝assembly line裝配線significant(adj.)意義重大的let go 解僱=firesince(conj.)自從
Honda has stated that reducing the number of workers is necessary due to the decreasing sales of its cars, which are mainly “gasoline-powered autos and plug-in hybrids.”
本田表示，裁員是必要的，因為汽車銷量下降，主要是「燃油車和插電式油電混合車」。
gasoline-powered autos燃油車hybrid(n.)雜種動物、油電混合車、混合物、合成物
In the first 10 months of 2023, the company experienced an 18.5% year-on-year dip in Chinese sales, selling only around 490,000 units.
在2023年前10個月，該公司中國銷售同比下降18.5%，僅售出約49萬輛。
year-on-year與去年同期相比的dip(n.)下降、衰退
With China’s goal of EV-only sales by 2035 still a long way off, GAC Honda’s sales figures show that the company is already struggling to compete with Chinese automakers, such as BYD, that are dominating the country’s EV market.
中國距離在2035年前實現僅售電動汽車的目標還很遙遠，廣汽本田的銷售數字顯示，該公司已難以與比亞迪等主導中國電車市場的中國車廠競爭。
still a long way off還有很長的路要走、距離很遙遠=still a long way to godominate(v.)主導、在⋯⋯中占首要地位
Besides Honda and Mitsubishi, Japanese automaker Toyota Motor has also experienced similar troubles in China, resulting in layoffs at one of its joint ventures in July and partial production stoppages in December.
除了本田和三菱之外，日本車廠豐田也在中國遇到了類似的瓶頸，導致其一家合資企業在7月份裁員，12月部分停產。
besides(adv.)除了～之外=in addition tobottleneck(n.)瓶頸result in導致result from起因、源自於stoppage(n.)停產、罷工