Ford Sets Loftier Goals In China
2007年09月25日09:22
福特汽车公司(Ford Motor Co.)首席执行长在该公司在中国的第二家整车生产厂竣工投产仪式上表示，福特将继续寻找扩大中国市场业务的途径。中国目前是全球第二大汽车市场。
Ford Motor Co.'s chief executive, inaugurating the auto maker's second assembly plant in China, said the company will continue to look for ways to expand in what is already the world's second-largest auto market.
福特总裁兼首席执行长穆拉利(Alan Mulally)对记者表示，扩大产能将是福特继续关注的问题。公司最重要的目标就是满足中国汽车市场快速增长的需求。此外，他还表示公司在中国南京市附近开设了一个新的福特研究中心。
'Expanding our capacity will be something we continuously look at,' Alan Mulally, who is Ford's president as well as CEO, told reporters as he also opened a new Ford research center nearby. He said the company's 'most important goal' is to meet the rapidly growing demand in China's car market.
预计中国将在接下来的几年中将超过美国，成为全球汽车销量最大的市场。
China is expected to become the world's largest vehicle market by unit sales, surpassing the U.S., over the next several years.
穆拉利还表示，福特可能会利用在中国不断增加的生产基地向其他市场出口汽车。他说，显然有可能从中国出口汽车，不过他强调福特目前的销售重点还是中国市场。
Mr. Mulally also acknowledged that Ford could use its growing production base in China to export cars to other markets. 'Clearly, exporting is a possibility,' Mr. Mulally said, though he stressed that Ford would focus on the China market for now.
今年早些时候，克莱斯勒集团(Chrysler LLC)宣布与奇瑞汽车有限公司(Chery Automobile Co.)签署协议，由后者为克莱斯勒代工生产小型汽车，产品将出口到最终包括美国在内的全球各个市场。中国商务部(Ministry of Commerce)上周末预测，今年中国将出口50万辆组装车。商务部长薄熙来表示，今年以来，中国汽车出口较上年同期增长了70%，汽车出口“已进入快速增长阶段”。
Earlier this year, Chrysler LLC announced an agreement with Chery Automobile Co. of China to make small cars for export to markets around the world, including eventually the U.S. China's Ministry of Commerce predicted this past weekend that the country would export more than 500,000 assembled vehicles in 2007. So far this year, China's car exports are up 70%. China's auto exports 'have entered a new phase of fast-paced growth,' said Commerce Minister Bo Xilai.
相对于通用汽车公司(General Motors Corp.)等老对手，福特汽车进入中国市场的时间较晚。据市场研究公司J.D. Power & Associates.旗下的亚汽资源(Automotive Resources Asia)称，今年前7个月福特汽车在华汽车销量排在第十一位。
Ford got a later start in China than rivals such as General Motors Corp. For the first seven months of the year, it ranked 11th in sales, according to Automotive Resources Asia, a unit of market-research firm J.D. Power & Associates.
但福特的高管表示，这家新的南京汽车厂在投产初期拥有年产16万辆汽车的能力，这样福特在中国的汽车总产能就将超过41万辆。该公司高管称，福特是中国汽车市场增长最快的品牌之一，而中国也是福特在亚洲地区最大的市场，整个亚洲区销售收入的四成来自中国。
But executives here said the new plant in Nanjing, which will have an initial capacity of 160,000 cars a year, will boost Ford's total capacity in China to more than 410,000 a year. Ford is one of the fastest-growing brands in China, which is the company's biggest market in the region, accounting for 40% of its sales in Asia, executives said.
福特在中国的另一家汽车组装厂位于内陆的重庆市，该厂生产的车型包括福特的蒙迪欧(Mondeo)、福克斯(Focus)和S-Max，此外还生产马自达3(Mazda3)和沃尔沃S40(Volvo S40)等汽车。
Ford's other assembly plant is in the inland Chinese city of Chongqing, where Ford makes the Mondeo, Focus and S-Max models, as well as the Mazda3 and the Volvo S40.
福特与日本马自达(Mazda Motor Corp.)和中国长安汽车集团(Changan Automobile Group)合资成立的公司──长安福特马自达汽车有限公司(Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co.)将在南京汽车厂投产初期混合生产两种车型，其中先投产马自达2，随后是福特一款尚未命名的新小型车。不过投产一段时间后，这家高度自动化的工厂可以灵活的生产多达八种车型。
In Nanjing, Changan Ford Mazda Automobile -- Ford's passenger-car joint venture with Japanese partner Mazda Motor Corp. and state-controlled Changan Automobile Group -- will initially make a mix of models, which will start with the Mazda2, followed by Ford's new small car, as yet unnamed. But over time, the highly automated plant is designed to be flexible enough to make as many as eight models.
穆拉利称，尽管有人会说福特进入中国市场的时间较同行们有些晚，但福特在中国市场的开端良好，并且会在此基础上继续发展。
'Even though some might argue we came to the market a little bit late compared to our peers, this is a good start from which to grow,' said Mr. Mulally.
穆拉利还暗示该公司未来会出现更多变化，特别是随着福特研发中心的工程师在全球范围的福特汽车上采用越来越多的中国造零配件。他表示，福特将继续其供应基地的建设……这些都是从竞争力角度上的考虑。
The former Boeing Co. chief executive hinted that more changes are to come, especially as engineers in Ford's research center continue to increase the number of parts from Chinese manufacturers that are used in Ford cars world-wide. 'We will continue to build up our supply base going forward. . . It's all about competitiveness.'
他表示，公司在密切关注美国国内汽车市场的动向，特别是有关次级抵押贷款市场风波损害美国汽车需求的迹象，公司会做好准备在必要时调整产品。当谈到福特汽车与全美汽车工人联合会(United Auto Workers)之间的谈判时，尽管语气温和，但他强调福特汽车从根本上说要把每个市场的优势利用起来。
He said that the auto maker is closely watching the domestic market in the U.S., particularly for signs that subprime-lending woes are hurting demand, and that he would be prepared to alter production if necessary. As talks continue with the United Auto Workers, he struck a conciliatory tone. But he emphasized that the strongest auto markers will ultimately be the ones that use each market to its advantage.
穆拉利说道：“真正不断进步的竞争者，要懂得利用杠杆效应翘动全球范围的资产”。
'The real competitors going forward are the ones who are going to be able to leverage their global assets around the world,' said Mr. Mulally.
Rebecca Blumenstein
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