Перевести the new champions emerging markets are the car industry’s big hope. but it won’t be an easy ride no wonder that all the big carmakers are fighting like rats in a sack to win the largest piece of the action. already, emerging markets have made the difference between life and death for some of the most famous names in the industry. gm’s survival would be in even greater doubt without the meteoric growth it is seeing in china. thanks in large part to the brics, a record 65% of gm’s sales in the first quarter were outside america. emerging markets still may see a huge growth: they account for more than a third of the world’s rich but only about 15% of luxury-car sales. when italy’s fiat was in danger of going out of business a few years ago, its brazilian operation came to the rescue. emerging markets accounted for 65% of its net income last year, by morgan stanley estimates. volkswagen, the market leader in china, believes it will soon be able to challenge toyota as the world’s biggest carmaker. in russia renault has taken a 25% stake in the country’s biggest local carmaker, avtovaz, and its logan is the first of a new wave of global low-cost cars. these markets have much in common, but each is also remarkably different. in china buyers turn up their noses at small cars. the market is still dominated by joint ventures with foreign firms, but the strongest local manufacturers are rapidly expanding production. russia still has a sizeable indigenous industry, but many of its products hark back to the old soviet union. like the chinese, russians like high and wide suvs. by contrast, brazilians prefer their cars small. india has established itself as an exponent of what car-industry executives call “frugal engineering” - innovation in the cause of ultra-low cost. given a rapidly growing world car population and dwindling oil supplies, fuel prices are bound to rise in the long term. despite the social and economic benefits that widespread car ownership brings, its expansion in developing countries has raised fears both about environmental and economic consequences. infrastructure is another big worry. in megacities of the developing world cars often move at less than walking speed, stuck in traffic jams. for the world’s carmakers the road ahead is full of opportunities, but also many risks. the economist useful terms and expressions • suv (sports utility vehicle) – полноприводной внедорожник • to take a stake in a company – приобрести долю в компании • to turn up one’s nose at – воротить нос при виде, выражать презрение к • indigenous – местный • to hark back to – восходить к (периоду в относиться к (периоду в выразитель, представитель • frugal – бережливый, экономный
