GM sales in China jump 24.6%
The ailing U.S. automaker sold 137,004 vehicles in March as China's stimulus package supported demand.
April 8, 2009: 8:23 AM ET
http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/08/news/companies/gm_china.reut/index.htm
SHANGHAI (Reuters) -- General Motors Corp said on Wednesday its China sales in March rose 24.6% from a year earlier to 137,004 vehicles, setting a company record for monthly sales as China's stimulus policies bolstered the market.
GM (GM, Fortune 500), which faces the threat of bankruptcy if it cannot complete a reorganization by a U.S. government-imposed June 1 deadline, also attributed the strong sales growth in China, its second-largest market, to new product offerings.
"Our strong performance in March demonstrates the early success of GM's new product offensive in China," Kevin Wale, president of the GM China Group, said in a statement.
China's overall auto market, the world's largest, has received a strong boost in recent months from government policy support measures.
A senior government planning official said figures from China's big auto groups indicated the country's overall vehicle sales may hit a monthly record in March, the official Shanghai Securities News reported on Wednesday.
China's official March vehicle sales data is due to be released on Thursday.
GM said its SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture, which posted particularly strong growth in minivan sales, benefited from preferential government policies for vehicles with small-displacement engines.
GM and its joint ventures will launch five new Chevrolet and Buick products in China over the next two years, it added.
references:
setting record
创纪录，此处指美国通用汽车公司在华的月销量超过13万辆，因中国政府之前发布的刺激经济政策（stimulus policies指经济刺激政策；bolster意为提振）
attributed the strong sales growth ... to new product offerings
谁言美帝不懂自吹加软文？首段又是rose 24.6%、又是137,004辆车、又是创造了月度销售纪录，最后才提了一下是中国刺激了经济内需，转而第二段马上就亮出自己面临的险恶环境——破产在即(threat of bankruptcy)、白宫强令重组(reorganization)，但即便在这样的险境下，一位美国式的英雄仍然因锐意进取、创新而取得了逆势佳绩。本段主要意思是通用公司将其业绩归功于新产品投放(new product offerings)，attribute to是指将某事实归于某原因。
new product offensive
offensive在此处用作名词，意指攻势、进攻。此处本意与前文new product offering是一致的，但offensive有军事、行为上的进攻含意，在通用高管口中说出并经由媒体报导则显示了通用公司在困境下仍然雄心勃勃，在市场中进攻势头甚强，配合第三段中的demonstrate（强调对事实有力的证明、展示）以及statement（陈述的意思，意为不带有个人主观判断）两个词，给人客观的感觉。
新闻行文至此，接下去便是对宏观状态的一些阐述：中国车市作为全球最大的市场受惠于近期政府支持政策(policy support measures)的有力推动(strong boost)；政府主管规划的高官称国内汽车巨头(big auto groups)的数据显示三月车辆销售将创新高(hit a monthly record)；官方将于（is due to to这个结构表示将会发生，或被期望发生）周四发布汽车销售信息（严格的说，应当是本贴发布后的一个小时）。
说完了客观情况，通用公司还是回到了软新闻上来：（1）通用五菱受惠于(benefited from)中国政府针对小排量(displacement)车的特殊政策(preferential原意指有区别的、有倾向的，这里指政府政策对各个行业保护、投入等方面的不同)，在minivan（别克商务舱、雪佛莱子弹头那类外形的面包车）车型的销售上取得极佳增长(posted particularly strong growth中的post相当于display显示的意思，但此处更强调“显示”的动态性，与后者particularly配合在一起表明这种增长是不可忽视的)；（2）通用将在今后两年内继续向中国市场投放（launch原意为发射，在商务领域内专指公司的新产品投入市场）五款新型雪佛莱和别克汽车。