Toyota Sets Lofty 2008 Sales Target
2007年12月26日09:44
丰田汽车公司(Toyota Motor Corp.)表示，受中国和俄罗斯等市场快速增长的推动，该公司将2008年的全球汽车销量目标定为985万辆，比今年增长5%。这将进一步拉开它与竞争对手通用汽车公司(General Motors Corp.)的距离。
Toyota Motor Corp., powered by rapid growth in markets like China and Russia, said it aims to boost global sales by 5% in 2008 to 9.85 million cars, pulling further ahead of rival General Motors Corp.
丰田汽车预计，包括下属的大发汽车公司(Daihatsu Motor)和日野汽车工业(Hino Motors Ltd.)在内，该公司今年的全球汽车销量为936万辆，比2006年增长6%。这意味着丰田汽车有望首次取代通用汽车成为年销量全球排名第一的汽车厂商。按销量计，丰田汽车是日本最大的汽车生产商。
Japan's No. 1 car maker by sales volume also said it expects global sales this year of 9.36 million vehicles, up 6% from 2006. Its 2007 sales, which include Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors Ltd. subsidiaries, may mean Toyota could overtake GM for the first time to become the world's largest auto seller on an annual basis.
近几个月来，丰田汽车和通用汽车一直在全球市场上暗自较劲。丰田汽车今年前六个月的销量在全球排名第一，但通用汽车今年前九个月的销量处于领先地位。面临财政困难和美国市场不确定性的通用汽车尚未发布2007年的全球销量预期，但该公司曾预计，今年将生产925.9万辆汽车。
Toyota and GM have been in a tight horse race in global auto sales in recent months. Toyota grabbed the world's No. 1 spot in the first six months of the year. But GM took the lead for the nine months ended September. GM hasn't released its projection for global sales for 2007. But the company, facing financial difficulties and an uncertain U.S. market, has said that it expects to produce 9.259 million vehicles worldwide this year.
丰田汽车总裁渡边捷昭(Katsuaki Watanabe)表示，公司计划通过扩大在中国、俄罗斯等快速增长的新兴市场上的销量来实现这一雄心勃勃的销售目标。在包括中国在内的亚洲市场，丰田汽车的目标是2008年销量增长20%，达到158万辆。
Katsuaki Watanabe, Toyota's president, said the company aims to achieve its bold sales targets by expanding in fast-growing emerging markets, particularly China and Russia. In its Asian markets, including China, Toyota aims to increase sales 20% in 2008 to 1.58 million vehicles.
但美国房屋销售大幅下滑引发的美国经济持续动荡、次级贷款危机和燃油价格上涨预计将使北美的销量基本持平。丰田汽车计划2008年在北美销售汽车264万辆，较2007年的预期销量增长1%。
But the continued economic turmoil in the U.S. triggered by a sharp decline in housing sales, the subprime crisis and rising fuel prices, are expected to keep North American sales flat. Toyota said it plans to sell 2.64 million vehicles in North America in 2008, up 1% over estimated sales for 2007.
假若丰田汽车果真击败其美国竞争对手，那无疑是该公司取得的一个重大成就。12年前，丰田汽车的销量还只有通用汽车全球销量的一半。但分析师表示，丰田汽车的管理人员希望公众不要仅将注意力放在销量上。瑞银证券日本有限公司(UBS Securities Japan Ltd.)驻东京分析师Tetsuo Yoshida认为，丰田汽车并不非常在意销量，他们看重的是质量，这对他们而言更加重要。
Toyota's likely victory over its American rival would be a major achievement for a company that had just half of GM's global sales just 12 years ago. But analysts say that for Toyota, the anticipated attention on its sales volume isn't what executives have longed for publicly. 'I think Toyota is not interested in volume. They are interested in quality -- that is far more important to them,' said Tetsuo Yoshida, an analyst for UBS Securities Japan Ltd in Tokyo.
丰田汽车一直在急于跟上中国市场快速增长的步伐，中国市场2007年对新车的需求从丰田汽车最初预计的800万辆增加到了900万辆。丰田汽车还在加快速度满足俄罗斯的需求。该公司周二宣布，正考虑在俄罗斯兴建第二家汽车生产厂，供应俄罗斯蓬勃发展的汽车市场，并向其它市场出口。丰田汽车发言人表示，公司计划将未来在俄罗斯的汽车年产量提高到20万至30万辆，其中最近在圣彼得堡新投入生产的工厂将年产5万辆汽车。她说，投资预算和将要生产的汽车型号等细节问题尚未决定。
Toyota officials fretted about keeping pace with fast growth in China, where the demand for new vehicles grew to 9 million vehicles in 2007 from Toyota's original projection of 8 million. Toyota is also racing to meet demand in Russia, where it announced Tuesday that it is considering setting up a second car-making plant to supply the booming Russian car market and to export to other markets. Toyota aims to have annual production of 200,000 to 300,000 cars in Russia in the future, including 50,000 cars at its recently opened plant in St. Petersburg, a company spokeswoman said. Details including expected investment and types of cars for production are undecided, she said.
尽管丰田汽车在国外市场实现了高速增长，但在日本国内的销量却停滞不前。虽然推出了新车型，并举办了新的试驾活动以刺激市场，但预计2007年的销量仍将下滑6%，降至160万辆，而2008年的销量则将基本持平。
While Toyota is achieving fast growth abroad, back home in the domestic Japanese market, its sales have been stagnant. Despite introducing new models and launching new test-drive campaigns to stimulate the market, sales are expected to decline 6% in 2007 to 1.6 million and remain flat next year.
渡边捷昭表示，日本市场在今后一两年仍难有起色。
'The market will remain at a weak level for the next year or two,' Mr. Watanabe said.
JOHN MURPHY
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