通用被丰田挤下销量第一的宝座

GM Sales Fall; Toyota Now No. 1

2008年04月24日14:15

通用汽车公司(General Motors Corp.)第一季度全球汽车销量略有下降，因北美市场销量的大幅下滑抵消了全球其他市场销量的持续增长。

General Motors Corp.'s global vehicle sales fell slightly in the first quarter as a big drop in North America negated continued growth in other regions of the world.

与此同时，丰田汽车公司(Toyota Motor Corp.)却实现了全球销量的增长。丰田汽车宣布今年第一季度销量较上年同期增长了2.7%，至241万辆。经过这番此消彼长，丰田汽车将通用汽车挤下了销量头把交椅的宝座。

GM's decline came as Toyota Motor Corp. reported global vehicle sales in the same period rose 2.7% to 2.41 million, edging the company past GM as the world's largest auto maker.

2007年第一季度时丰田汽车的销量也一度超过通用汽车，但截至年底时，通用汽车仍以微弱优势胜出。

In 2007, Toyota outsold GM in the first quarter, but at the end of the year, GM held the lead by a tiny margin.

通用汽车表示，今年第一季度共销售汽车225万辆，较上年同期减少了0.6%。在公司一直全力避免继续产生巨额亏损的北美市场，销量减少了10%，而在拉美、非洲及中东市场的销量则增长了20%，在亚洲和欧洲的销量也分别增长了6%和3%。

GM said it sold 2.25 million vehicles in the first three months of the year, down 0.6% from the first quarter of 2007. Sales in North America, where GM is struggling to stop substantial losses, declined 10%, while sales rose 6% in Asia, 20% in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East and 3% in Europe.

在过去长达76年的时间里，通用汽车一直是全球销量最大的汽车生产商。周三发布的销量数据显示，该公司在持续扩张且利润颇丰的豪华车市场的表现不尽人意。市场也预计再过大约一周时间出炉的公司第一财季业绩情况也将较为疲弱。

GM has been the world's largest auto maker by sales volume for the past 76 years. Its 2008 first-quarter sales total, which was released about a week before the company is expected to report weak first-quarter earnings, revealed that the auto maker is sputtering in a growing and highly profitable segment: luxury vehicles.

通用旗下有三个豪华车品牌：凯迪拉克(Cadillac)、悍马(Hummer)和萨博(Saab)。公司第一季度共交付了93,843辆豪华车，较上年同期减少6%。虽然国际市场对豪华车的需求有所增长，而且通用汽车也有意在许多发展中国家扩大业务，但这第一季度的销售业绩仍不理想。

GM sells three luxury brands: Cadillac, Hummer and Saab. During the first quarter, the company delivered 93,843 luxury vehicles, or 6% fewer than in the same period in 2007. This comes despite a growing appetite for luxury vehicles in international markets, including many developing countries where GM is looking to lead the way.

许多汽车厂家都用知名豪华车品牌在汽车市场上赚取高额利润。以丰田为例，它为自己的品牌开发了很多车型，并给它们加装了丰富的功能以及精妙的设计，并将这些车型都归入豪华车雷克萨斯(Lexus)系列。

Many auto makers have used strong luxury brands to bank big profits in automotive operations. Toyota, for instance, takes many vehicles it develops for its Toyota brand and dresses them up with features and refined designs to fit them into the Lexus portfolio.

通用汽车销售分析经理迈克?迪吉奥瓦尼(Mike DiGiovanni)在一个电话会议上表示，公司正在调整其豪华车产品系列，以更好地满足全球不同市场中买家的需求。

During a conference call, GM sales-analysis manager Mike DiGiovanni said the company is remodeling its portfolio to better meet demands of luxury buyers in an array of global markets.

通用汽车仍在努力实现让北美业务扭亏为盈的计划。公司在北美的零售市场（通过经销商向个人售车）中仍能保持份额，但卡车和运动型多用途车(SUV)等高利润率产品的销售出现了大幅下降。

GM is struggling in its attempt to turn around core North American operations. It has maintained its share of U.S. retail sales, or cars sold to individuals through dealerships, but sales of high-margin products such as trucks and sports-utility vehicles have plummeted.

迪吉奥瓦尼表示，通用汽车在四大市场中的三个市场都创下了销售纪录，但在北美、特别是美国市场仍面临着挑战。

'We are setting records in three of our four regions,' Mr. DiGiovanni said. 'North America, and more specifically the U.S. market, continues to be challenging.'

尽管如此，通用仍坚持认为今年下半年美国市场将会回暖。迪吉奥瓦尼称第一季度美国工业车辆的销售情况要好于预期。

Regardless, GM is sticking with its forecast for a U.S. recovery in the second half of 2008. Mr. DiGiovanni said first-quarter U.S. industry vehicle sales came in better than expected.

居高不下的油价和不断下降的房产价值，以及对信用状况的担心均令美国消费者承受压力。由于油价超出通用汽车此前的预期，迪吉奥瓦尼预计第二季度北美市场工业车辆的销售将出现下滑。

High fuel prices, lower home values and concerns about credit availability have pressured U.S. consumers. Fuel prices are higher than GM had expected, leading Mr. DiGiovanni to speculate that second-quarter North American industry sales might decline.

另一个隐患是新一轮的工人抗议活动。在通用汽车一家位于密歇根州生产畅销的混合型多用途车(CUV)的工厂中，对一份内部协议深感不满的工人正在进行罢工。在堪萨斯州一家生产新款雪佛兰(Chevrolet) Malibu车的工厂中，工会也警告资方他们可能会罢工。

Another potential problem is a new round of labor strife. Workers at a Michigan plant building hot-selling crossover utility vehicles are on strike over a local factory agreement. A union local at a Kansas plant that builds the newly redesigned Chevrolet Malibu has warned the auto maker it may strike.

通用汽车主要供应商American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc.持续了近两个月的罢工事件已令这家汽车企业深感头疼，小型货车和SUV的生产也随之下降。迪吉奥瓦尼称Axle的罢工影响了公司的部分批量销售业务，涉及车辆约有7,000至10,000辆。

GM already is dealing with a nearly two-month-old strike at supplier American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc., which has cut into pickup truck and SUV production. Mr. DiGiovanni said the American Axle strike has cost GM some fleet sales, which amount to about 7,000 to 10,000 vehicles.

迪吉奥瓦尼表示，虽然密歇根州CUV工厂的罢工还没有影响销售，但这一点确实令人担心。他指出通用CUV的库存量不大，小型货车和SUV的库存较多。

While the strike at the crossover-vehicle plant in Delta Township, Mich., hasn't cost GM any sales yet, it is a concern, he said. GM doesn't have a large inventory of crossover vehicles; it does with pickups and SUVs.

Terry Kosdrosky / John D. Stoll

http://chinese.wsj.com/gb/20080424/ffe144205.asp

中国节能轿车市场发展前路漫漫

In China, Hybrids Prove To Be A Tough Sell

2008年04月21日14:21

全球汽车厂家将在本周的北京汽车展上纷纷展现自己最新的环保技术，其中包括混合动力发动机、电动轿车和燃料电池汽车。

AT THE Beijing auto show this week, global auto makers are showing off their latest environmentally friendly technologies, including hybrid engines, electric cars and fuel-cell vehicles.

但是，席卷中国、俄罗斯和印度等新兴市场的购车潮对环境的影响恐怕难以在短期内因这种技术创新而得到缓解。

But there is little chance such innovations will help reduce the environmental fallout of the car-buying boom sweeping across China and other emerging markets like Russia and India anytime soon.

问题主要在于成本。发达国家的许多汽车厂家所宣传的高科技绿色解决方案都太过昂贵，在发展中国家常常是行不通的，这里的消费者刚开始能负担得起配备着老式发动机的轿车。比如，中国2007年的轿车销量飙升21%，超过了520万辆，尽管一些本土消费者具有环保意识，但他们也很关心价格。

The problem is cost. The high-tech green solutions touted by many auto makers in the developed world are proving to be far too expensive and often impractical in the developing world, where consumers are just beginning to afford the old-fashioned combustion engine. For instance, in China, where passenger-car sales soared 21% to more than 5.2 million vehicles in 2007, some consumers are environmentally conscious, but they also care about price.

丰田汽车公司(Toyota Motor Corp.)就从普锐斯(Prius)过去三年里在中国令人失望的销售业绩中认识到了这一点。起价21,000美元的普锐斯在美国非常受欢迎，因为居高不下的燃油价格提振了市场对小型节油车辆的需求。

Toyota Motor Corp. is learning this lesson from its disappointing efforts to sell the Prius hybrid in China for the past three years. The Prius, with a starting price of $21,000, is extremely popular in the U.S., where high fuel prices have increased demand for smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles.

但在中国，相同车辆的售价却高出了近一倍，达到了40,000美元左右，分析师称，这主要是因为政府对进口零部件征收高额关税、生产成本较高以及推动降价的竞争压力不大。中国许多能支付起这个价格的富有消费者都会选择高端的运动型多用途车(SUV)和豪华轿车。

But in China, the same car costs nearly twice as much -- about $40,000 -- because of government duties on imported parts, higher production costs and, analysts say, no competition to drive down prices. For that amount of money, many wealthy Chinese consumers are choosing high-end sport-utility vehicles and luxury cars.

J.D. Power & Associates旗下亚汽资源公司(Automotive Resources Asia)的数据显示，尽管去年中国的SUV和豪华轿车销量实现了两位数增长，但普锐斯的销量只有414辆，比2006年下降了81%。此前丰田汽车设定的目标是销售3,000辆普锐斯轿车。

So while sales of SUVs and luxury vehicles soared by double digits in China last year, Toyota sold only 414 of the hybrid vehicles, an 81% decline from 2006, according to J.D. Power & Associates' Automotive Resources Asia unit. Toyota's goal was to sell 3,000 cars.

丰田汽车驻中国发言人Hitoshi Yokoyama称，中国消费者的环保意识仍比较薄弱。

'Chinese consumer awareness of the environment is still relatively low,' says Hitoshi Yokoyama, Toyota's spokesman in China.

同样，本田汽车(Honda Motor Co.)的思域(Civic)混合动力车自去年11月上市以来仅售出了约150辆。这款车的售价约为38,000美元，几乎是其美国销售价格的两倍。

Similarly, Honda Motor Co. has sold only about 150 of its Civic hybrids since the model's launch in November. It costs about $38,000, or about twice the price in the U.S.

中国政府正在采取一些措施，来帮助那些价格更可承受的混合动力车开拓市场，其主要措施是推动本土汽车厂家进军这一领域。根据汽车咨询机构CSM Worldwide的预计，2010年前后市场上将有30种左右不同的混合动力车型可供选择。

The Chinese government is making some effort to promote more affordable hybrids, mainly by pushing state-owned car makers to develop a domestic hybrid market. According to forecasts by auto consulting firm CSM Worldwide, some 30 different hybrid models will be available in China by about 2010.

汽车业新贵奇瑞汽车有限公司(Chery Automobile Co.)计划今年开始销售1.3升排量的低价油电混合动力轿车。与一家中国国有公司合作的通用汽车(General Motors Corp.)预计今年将在中国市场推出别克君越(Buick LaCrosse) Eco-Hybrid油电混合动力。位于重庆的长安汽车(Changan Automobiles)也计划在年底推出杰勋(Jie Xun)掀背式混合动力车。

The upstart Chery Automobile Co. plans to start selling a lower-cost gas-electric hybrid sedan with a 1.3-liter engine this year. General Motors Corp., which has partnered with a state-owned company, expects to start selling the Buick LaCrosse Eco-Hybrid in China this year. And Changan Automobiles, a big car maker in the southwestern city of Chongqing, also plans to launch a hybrid hatchback, Jie Xun, at the end of the year.

通用汽车表示，选择君越作为在中国推出的首款混合动力车是因为这款豪华中级车能够吸引更具环保意识的富有买家，同时他们也能够承受混合动力车的额外成本。

GM says it chose the LaCrosse, a large and luxurious sedan, as its first hybrid offering in China because the car appeals to wealthier buyers who are more environmentally conscious and can afford the extra cost of a hybrid.

通用汽车表示，能为混合动力车掏更多钱的轿车买家同时也看重自己的地位，希望拥有更大、配置更加先进的轿车。通用汽车中国销售、服务和营销部门执行董事刘曰海(Joseph Liu)说，我们认为这是从普锐斯的销售情况中汲取的教训。

Car buyers who can shell out the extra money for a hybrid are also status conscious and expect a bigger and better-equipped car, GM says. 'We believe that is the lesson to be learned from the sales performance of the Prius,' says Joseph Liu, executive director for vehicle sales, service and marketing at GM in China.

君越混合动力车在城市中行驶时将比标准君越少消耗约15%的汽油，排放也会减少15%。刘曰海表示这款车将于6月份上市销售。

The hybrid LaCrosse will burn about 15% less fuel and produce 15% fewer emissions than a standard LaCrosse in city driving. Mr. Liu said the car will go on sale in June.

通用汽车首席执行长瓦格纳(Rick Wagoner)周日表示，混合动力车面临的问题是，我们能否把混合动力车的成本降低到普通用户能够负担的水平。他说，中国有望在为节能轿车生产带来规模效应的过程中扮演重要角色。

The question with hybrids, GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said Sunday, is: 'Can we get the cost down on hybrids enough to get them to pay off for the average guy?' He said China will likely play an important role in providing economies of scale for producing energy-saving vehicles.

福特汽车(Ford Motor Co.)亚太及非洲区执行副总裁约翰?帕克(John Parker)周日表示，我们正在为中国及其他发展中国家里最大的客户群体寻找行之有效的解决方案。

John Parker, Ford Motor Co.'s executive vice president for Asia-Pacific and Africa, said Sunday: 'We're trying to find solutions that work for the biggest volume of customers' in China and other developing countries.

在福特汽车不断改进混合动力和其他技术，并想方设法降低相关产品价格的同时，该公司还在全球市场推出了更加省油和环保的汽油发动机。福特表示，相对于标准发动机，公司新开发的EcoBoost汽油发动机在城市中行驶时能够减少约15%的排放，提高燃油经济性约20%。

While Ford refines its hybrid and other technologies and looks for ways to make them more affordable, it is also rolling out improvements globally to gasoline engines designed to make them more fuel-efficient and cleaner. The company says its new EcoBoost gasoline engine, used in city driving, reduces emissions by about 15% and improves fuel economy by about 20%, compared with a standard engine.

所有汽车厂家都表示，中国政府若能出台减税等鼓励措施将会降低混合动力车的价格，推动销量增加。当前中国政府并未对丰田汽车的混合动力车推出鼓励措施，为的是不危及国内市场的发展。

What would help hybrid sales, all car makers say, would be for the Chinese government to provide incentives -- like tax cuts -- to make the vehicles affordable. At the same time, the government isn't providing incentives to Toyota hybrid models because it doesn't want to jeopardize the domestic market in development.

关注中国机动车问题的独立咨询师迈克尔?沃尔什(Michael Walsh)表示，中国需要尽快采取措施支持环保汽车。他说，中国政府在过去10年中作了很多工作，取消了含铅汽油，实施了更严格的排放标准，但为了减少排放、降低燃油消费，中国还有很长的路要走。

China needs to move quickly to back cleaner vehicles, says Michael Walsh, an independent consultant who works on motor-vehicle issues in China. The Chinese government has come a long way during the past decade, eliminating leaded fuel and adopting stricter emissions regulations, he says, but it still has a long way to go to curb emissions and reduce fuel consumption.

沃尔什称，中国需要更有紧迫感，否则污染水平或石油消耗将会达到非常高的程度。

'They need to move quickly, or the levels of pollution and oil consumption are going to be out of sight,' he says.

国际轿车厂家一直在游说中国采用他们中意的环保技术，主要是那些他们已在自己国内推广了的技术。但所有这些做法都面临着很多困难。美国公司作为短期解决方案而推出的生物燃料因食品价格上涨而显得后劲不足。欧洲厂家看好的清洁柴油也难以实施，因为中国的炼油厂无法生产该技术所需的低硫燃料，而升级设施需要投入数十亿美元。电动汽车和插电式混合动力车可能不会给中国的环境带来多大帮助，这是因为中国的大多数电力都来自于污染较高的燃煤电厂。

International car makers have lobbied China to adopt other eco-friendly technologies they favor, mainly the ones they use back home. But all these approaches face challenges. Biofuels, pushed by U.S. companies as a short-term solution, are losing support in the face of food-price inflation. Clean diesel, which European makers favor, would be difficult because China's refineries don't have the capacity to make the low-sulfur fuel that would be required, and upgrading them would cost billions of dollars. Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, designed to be recharged by plugging them into the country's electricity grid, may not do much to help the environment in China. That is because most electricity in China is generated by burning coal, a polluting fossil fuel.

不过，中国的轿车厂家正在寻找多种变通方式。奇瑞汽车在本周的汽车展上展出了燃料电池轿车和混合动力轿车。吉利汽车(Geely Holding Group)和比亚迪集团(BYD Group)旗下的比亚迪汽车(BYD Auto Co.)都研制了电动轿车。比亚迪计划2009年前向大众市场推出e6电动轿车，一次充满电后该车能够行驶300公里。

Still, Chinese car makers are exploring many of these alternatives. Chery Automobile has a fuel-cell car and hybrid on display at this week's auto show. Geely Holding Group and BYD Auto Co., a unit of the Shenzhen-based BYD Group, both feature electric vehicles. BYD plans to mass-market its e6 electric car, which can travel 300 kilometers on a single full charge, by 2009.

不过，尽管中国非常重视混合动力车市场，但未来仍需面临重重挑战。眼下降低混合动力车成本还未提到中国制造商的议事日程之上，因为他们需解决电池的供电时间和寒冷天气下的运行情况等诸多技术问题。

For now, however, China is focusing on hybrids, though many challenges lie ahead. Chinese manufacturers haven't yet reached the stage of trying to make hybrids affordable as they work out technical issues, such as battery endurance and cold-weather operation.

中国汽车技术研究中心(China Automotive Technology and Research Center)下属电动汽车研发中心主任吴志新表示，他的调查研究显示中国大多数驾车者都愿意购买混合动力车，前提是它们和普通轿车比起来价格涨幅在 20%之内。这是一个艰巨的挑战，因为占去年中国轿车总销量67%的小型和微型轿车的最低售价仅为4,500美元左右。

Wu Zhixin, director of research and development at the China Automotive Technology and Research Center, a think tank in Shanghai, says his survey research shows that the majority of Chinese drivers would be willing to buy a hybrid -- if the price tag were no more than 20% higher than that of a conventional car. That is a tough challenge since compact and smaller cars, which made up 67% of all car sales in China last year, are selling for as little as $4,500.

清华大学核能与新能源技术研究院教授吴宗鑫说，节约的汽油费不足以抵消这类轿车购车成本的上升。他表示，政府应该开始用混合动力车取代政府机关的现有车辆，以帮助厂家实现规模经济，降低车价。

'The money being saved on gas isn't enough to cover the higher cost of the vehicles,' says Wu Zongxin, dean of Tsinghua University's Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology. Mr. Wu says the government should start replacing its own vehicle fleets with hybrids to help auto makers gain economies of scale and bring prices down.

上个月，丰田汽车向政府官员展示了混合动力技术的好处，捐赠了50辆普锐斯轿车供政府部门使用。丰田汽车上月还宣布将普锐斯的价格下调8%，降低3,000美元左右。

Last month, Toyota did its part to demonstrate to government officials the benefits of hybrid technology, donating 50 Prius vehicles for use by government officials. Toyota also announced last month it was dropping the price of the Prius by 8%, or about $3,000.

虽然这可能不足以提高这款车的销量，但丰田汽车乐观地认为在中国市场中，此类轿车的销量或许不用几十年、而只需几年时间就有可能实现增长。

That may not be enough to change sales, but Toyota is optimistic about the chances for sales to grow in years, if not decades, ahead.

丰田汽车发言人Hideaki Homma表示，中国是一个具有悠久历史的国家，我们正处于向中国市场介绍混合动力车的阶段；一旦混合动力车的理念得到认可，丰田预计其销量将会出现快速增长。

'China is a country with a very long history, and we are at the point where the introduction of the hybrid car is taking place,' says Hideaki Homma, a Toyota spokesman. 'Once the idea of hybrids catches on, we expect to see rapid growth.'

John Murphy / Gordon Fairclough

http://chinese.wsj.com/gb/20080421/ffe145309.asp

重型轮胎制造商前景看好

Big-Tire Manufacturers Are Good Bets

2008年04月18日11:03

希望从中国的交通运输热潮中获益的投资者不妨关注一下生产大型轮胎的企业，分析师称，它们对保持中国经济的顺畅运行功不可没。

INVESTORS hoping to ride China's transportation boom should take a look at the companies that make the giant tires that help keep the economy rolling along, analysts say.

每年，都有数十万辆新生产的重型卡车和工程车辆驶上中国的道路。它们主要用于矿山和建筑工地，或是从事货物运输。这些车辆使用的全钢子午线轮胎中约有70%都是由国内轮胎厂家生产的，同时它们的出口业务也在不断发展。

Every year, hundreds of thousands of new heavy trucks and engineering vehicles get onto Chinese roads. They work at mines and construction sites and move goods. About 70% of the all-steel radial tires these vehicles use are supplied by homegrown tire makers, which also have a growing export business.

分析师表示，这些公司能够在中国股市下跌时为投资者提供一些保护。其中的首选是风神轮胎股份有限公司(Aeolus Tyre)和青岛双星股份有限公司(Qingdao Doublestar)，以及双钱集团股份有限公司(Double Coin Holdings)。前两家公司只有A股上市，而双钱集团除了A股外，还有以美元计价的B股上市。这三家公司是中国六家上市轮胎制造商中最大的三家。

Analysts say these companies could provide some protection for investors when China's stock market -- red-hot most of last year -- is suffering. Among their preferred bets: Aeolus Tyre, Qingdao Doublestar -- both of which list class A shares, mainly for domestic investors -- and Double Coin Holdings, which has A-class shares plus foreign-currency denominated B-class shares, which foreigners can buy.

同中国几乎所有的股票一样，这些公司的股票今年也出现了下跌。但它们的跌幅低于下跌了39%的上证综合指数。

Shares of these companies, the three biggest among six listed Chinese tire makers, have fallen this year, as have virtually all China stocks. But the tire makers' shares have slipped less than China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which has plunged 39%.

分析师表示，这三家大型轮胎制造商仍会继续在市场占有主导地位，原因之一就在于其强大的品牌形象。而它们的业务也在高速增长。平安证券(Ping An Securities)驻上海分析师程磊称，中国轮胎市场供不应求，尤其是优质产品。

Analysts say the three leading big-tire makers can continue to dominate the market, partly because of their strong brand names. Also, business is growing briskly. 'Supply is falling short of demand, especially for good products' in the Chinese tire market, says Cheng Lei, an analyst with Ping An Securities in Shanghai.

这些工厂生产的重型轮胎又称TBR轮胎，即卡车和客车子午线轮胎。它们由橡胶和全钢带束层组成，以承载巨大的负荷。轿车和轻型卡车的轮胎则采用由钢丝、尼龙以及更具柔韧性的材料混合而成的带束层。

The heavy-duty tires these companies make, known as TBR tires for 'truck and bus radial,' are made of rubber and all-steel belts to shoulder heavy loads. Car and light-truck tires use belts that mix steel with polyester and more flexible materials.

中国目前是全球最大的轮胎生产国之一。中国橡胶工业协会(China Rubber Industry Association)的数据显示，去年中国生产了3.30亿条轮胎，其中5,000万条属于全钢TBR轮胎。该协会预计，中国TBR轮胎的销售量在今后几年里每年将增长25%至30%，而中国的轮胎总销量每年将增长15%。

China is already one of the world's largest tire producers. It produced 330 million tires last year, of which 50 million were all-steel TBR tires, according to the China Rubber Industry Association. It predicts sales in China of TBR tires will grow 25% to 30% annually in the next several years, compared with 15% for all tires.

法国米奇林(Michelin)、日本普利司通轮胎公司(Bridgestone Corp.)和美国固特异公司(Goodyear Tire & Rubber)都将部分制造业务转到了中国，以降低成本。

Global tire makers such as Michelin of France, Bridgestone of Japan and Goodyear Tire & Rubber of the U.S. have shifted some manufacturing to China to cut costs.

但它们将重点放到了轿车轮胎上面。为了满足对速度、安全性和舒适性的需要，轿车轮胎需要有更先进的技术。业内分析师表示，中国国内轮胎厂家在市场的这个细分领域难以同国外对手竞争。

But they are focused on car tires, which require high technology to meet needs for speed, safety and comfort. Industry analysts say it is tough for China's domestic tire makers to compete with foreign rivals for this sophisticated part of the market.

但国内厂家抢占了重型轮胎市场。中国橡胶工业协会轮胎分会的黄积中说，这个领域不是外国公司的重点，但这是个有巨大潜力的市场。

But they have snatched the market niche for big, heavy-duty tires. 'It's not a focus of foreign companies, but it's a market with great potential,' says Huang Jizhong, an official dealing with tires at the rubber-industry association.

向中国运送三米多高、重达数吨的巨型轮胎成本高昂，而通过中国工厂满足当地的需求则更加划算，同时，中国低成本的轮胎对海外买家也深具吸引力。

It is expensive to ship to China giant tires that can weigh several tons and stand more than three meters tall. It is less expensive to meet local demand through Chinese factories, whose lower-cost tires, in turn, are attractive to overseas buyers.

分析师说，中国买家愿意选择本地TBR轮胎的另一个原因则是它们的设计符合中国较差的路况，以及法律禁止但却普遍存在的卡车超载现象。

Analysts say another reason Chinese buyers prefer local TBR tires is that their designs are adapted to tough Chinese road conditions, and to the banned, but still fairly widespread, practice of drivers overloading trucks.

TBR轮胎的制造商还会从大型车辆轮胎的迅速磨损中受益。平安证券的数据称，一辆重型卡车平均每年需要更换10到20条轮胎，而轿车仅为1.5条。

TBR makers also benefit from the way big vehicles quickly wear out tires. On average, a heavy truck needs to replace 10 to 20 tires a year, while a sedan needs only 1.5, according to Ping An Securities.

平安证券的程磊对青岛双星的评级为强烈建议买进。去年青岛双星的TBR轮胎年产量已经增加到260万条，而2001年时的产量仅为30万条。这家总部位于山东的公司称，它去年TBR轮胎的销量比2006年增长了90%。

Mr. Cheng, of Ping An, has a 'strong recommendation' on Qingdao Doublestar, listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Qingdao Doublestar, based in Shandong province, increased its annual TBR production capacity to 2.6 million tires last year, compared with 300,000 in 2001. The company says it sold 90% more TBR tires last year than in 2006.

青岛双星最近将轮胎价格提高了3%至5%，程磊表示，该公司和其它厂家能够将原材料成本的上涨转移给消费者。人民币走强降低了进口成本，全球橡胶价格上涨对中国制造商的影响也因此得到了缓解。

Qingdao Doublestar recently raised tire prices 3% to 5%, and Mr. Cheng says it and other makers can pass along rising raw-material costs to customers. The effect of rising world rubber prices on Chinese manufacturers has also been mitigated by the strengthening of China's currency, which reduces the cost of imports.

程磊说，当产品供应很难满足需求时，价格自然就会上涨。他预计TBR轮胎短缺的局面近期内不会结束。

'When it's too hard for supply of a product to meet the demand, price rises come naturally,' says Mr. Cheng. He expects a shortage of TBR tires won't end any time soon.

程磊估计，青岛双星每提价1%，全年净利润就能增加近4,000万元，约合600万美元。该公司2007年的净利润为8,889万元。

Mr. Cheng calculates that each 1% that Qingdao Doublestar can raise prices will add nearly 40 million yuan, or almost $6 million, to its annual net profit. The company reported 2007 net income of 88.89 million yuan.

青岛双星的股票周四收于人民币6.90元（约合0.99美元），较去年底的水平下跌了4.4%。

Shares of Qingdao Doublestar closed Thursday at 6.90 yuan (99 cents), or 4.4% below their level at the end last year.

海通证券(Haitong Securities)分析师刘金推荐的是风神轮胎。总部位于河南的这家公司正在建设年产15万条工程子午胎的工厂。刘金对该公司的评级为买进，12个月目标股价是30元，是目前股价的1倍以上。周四风神轮胎收于13.29元，自今年初以来下跌了7.4%。

Liu Jin, an analyst at Haitong Securities, recommends Aeolus Tyre. The Henan-based company is building a facility to produce 150,000 off-road radial tires annually for engineering vehicles. Mr. Liu has a 'buy' rating on the company, and a 12-month target price of 30 yuan -- more than double the current price. Aeolus Tyre shares ended Shanghai trading Thursday at 13.29 yuan, or 7.4% down from the start of the year.

也有部分分析师看好上海的双钱集团。刘金说，该公司在技术和品牌知名度方面都居于领先地位。双钱集团股票的表现不如风神轮胎和青岛双星。双钱集团A股周四收于7.48元，自今年以来下跌了32%，双钱集团B股周四收于0.59美元，今年以来下跌了34%。

Some analysts also like Shanghai-based Double Coin. 'It is a leading company in both technology and brand awareness,' says Mr. Liu. Double Coin's shares haven't fared as well as those of Aeolus and Qingdao Doublestar. Double Coin's A shares ended Thursday at 7.48 yuan -- down 32% for the year -- while its B shares, which closed at 59 cents, are off 34% this year.

并非所有人都看好轮胎类股。难以驱散的不确定因素令大多数分析师都建议对目前买入中国股票持谨慎态度。

Not everyone is bullish on the tire stocks. Continued uncertainty is making most analysts suggest caution in buying any Chinese shares now.

轮胎业务本身也有令人担忧的因素。其中一个是进口中国轮胎的国家与中国的贸易纠纷增多，也采取了更为严格的监管措施。去年，一家美国进口商召回了中国杭州中策橡胶有限公司(Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co.)生产的一批轮胎，原因是可能存在安全隐患。今年初，美国商务部(Commerce Department)初步裁定对从中国进口的数百万条非公路工程轮胎征收平均24.75%的反倾销税，称原因在于这些产品被以不合理的低价销售到美国。

There are also concerns specific to the business. One is a growing number of trade disputes and regulatory actions in countries importing China-made tires. Last year, a U.S. importer recalled a batch of tires made by a Chinese company, Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co., for suspected safety defects. Earlier this year, the U.S. Commerce Department set preliminary antidumping duties of an average 24.75% on millions of off-road tires from China it said were being sold at unfairly low prices.

但这一裁决可能不会产生很大影响。风神轮胎称，去年向美国交付的非公路轮胎仅占总出口额的0.6%。

But that ruling isn't likely to have a significant impact. Aeolus Tyre said off-road tire shipments to the U.S. made up just 0.6% of its total export value last year.

部分分析师还担心特种轮胎制造商服务的这个市场可能规模太小，不足以维持长期的增长。国金证券(Sinolink Securities)分析师刘波说，这块市场的容量有限，而竞争看来正在加剧。

Some analysts also worry that the niche market that the specialty-tire makers serve is probably too small to sustain long-term growth. 'The market capacity is limited. Competition appears to be growing fierce,' says Liu Bo, a Shanghai-based analyst with Sinolink Securities.

Ellen Zhu

http://chinese.wsj.com/gb/20080418/ahr110608.asp

国人购车提档次 本土车厂承重压

Pricier Car Demand Puts Pressure On Chinese Makers

2008年04月17日12:13

两年前，宗跃（音）花7万元（按当前汇率约合1万美元）购买了一辆中国一汽轿车股份有限公司(FAW Car Co.)生产的微型轿车。这款轿车车身狭小，也没有电动车锁和定速巡航系统，但它还是吸引了在北京一家美资高科技公司做营销管理工作的宗跃。一汽轿车是位于长春的中国第一汽车集团公司(China First Auto Works Group)的子公司。

Two years ago Yue 'Ricky' Zong paid 70,000 yuan, or $10,000, for a minicar made by China's FAW Car Co., a unit of First Auto Works based in Changchun. The car was cramped and didn't have power locks or cruise control, but it got the 31-year-old marketing executive around Beijing, where he works for a U.S. high-tech company.

如今，31岁的宗跃计划成家，加上从银行获得的一大笔分红，他不再满足于最基本的交通工具，而是想用20万元左右购买一款更大，更舒适些的座驾。宗跃和妻子目前考虑的一款轿车是本田思域(Honda Civic)。这次侧气囊成了必需的配置。他说，我们现在的轿车太小，也不够安全。

Now with plans to start a family and a big bonus in the bank, Mr. Zong wants more than just basic transportation and is planning to spend about 200,000 yuan on a bigger, comfier ride. One car Mr. Zong and his wife are considering is the Honda Civic. And side air bags are a must feature this time. 'Our current car is just too small and not safe enough,' he said.

宗跃的汽车升级计划显示出，中国蓬勃发展的汽车业中正在发生的巨大转变预计会在下周向公众开放的北京汽车展上更加清晰地显现出来。中国的轿车买家不再满足于简陋的经济型轿车，他们凭借自己新积累的财富开始将眼光投向美国等发达国家市场上的主流车型，这些车更宽敞也更昂贵。

Mr. Zong's transportation upgrade illustrates a broader shift in China's booming auto industry that is expected to become even clearer at the Beijing auto show slated to open to the public next week. No longer content with no-frills econoboxes, Chinese car buyers are increasingly using their new wealth to buy the kind of bigger, more-expensive wheels that predominate in developed markets such as the U.S.

这种转变还在降低市场对入门级轿车的需求，并对中国各种规模的汽车厂家都产生了重要影响。对通用汽车(General Motors Corp.)和丰田汽车(Toyota Motor Corp.)等跨国汽车公司乃至它们在中国的合作伙伴而言，这是一个好兆头。他们生产的正是宗跃这样的消费者下一步想购买的轿车，比如丰田凯美瑞(Camry)和大众汽车(Volkswagen AG)的速腾(Jetta)等。目前，中国是全球第二大轿车市场。

The shift, which also is undercutting demand for entry-level cars, has important consequences for auto makers of all sizes in China, now the world's second largest market for passenger vehicles. It bodes well for the global auto makers such as General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. and their Chinese partners. Together they produce the kinds of cars consumers like Mr. Zong are moving to, such as Toyota's Camry and Volkswagen AG's Jetta.

另一方面，低成本轿车销售的放缓可能给吉利汽车(Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.)和奇瑞汽车(Chery Automobile Co.)等近年来飞速发展的本土汽车厂家带来压力，他们的产品以低端轿车为主。奇瑞最为畅销的一款轿车是最低售价约为4,500美元的奇瑞QQ。

On the flip side, a slowdown in sales growth of low-cost cars could pressure China's upstart auto makers -- such as Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. and Chery Automobile Co. -- that have focused on that segment of the market. One of Chery's big sellers is the QQ model, which is priced as low as about $4,500.

J.D. Power & Associates驻上海的分析师邓凯(Michael Dunne)说，中国城市中产阶层财富的增长意味着承受能力已经越来越不是消费者购买轿车时的决定因素，价格低廉对他们已经不再起作用了。

The rising wealth of China's urban middle class means affordability is less and less a deciding factor in which car consumers buy, said Michael Dunne, an analyst for J.D. Power & Associates in Shanghai. 'Cheap price tags alone aren't going to do it for them any more,' he said.

从去年开始，这种变化已开始影响到中国本土的汽车厂家。奇瑞发言人金弋波说，该公司去年9月注意到了这种趋势，当时微型轿车的销量开始大幅下滑，而人们还在继续涌入销售更大、更高级轿车的经销店。这种变化对QQ的冲击尤其大，而奇瑞较大的车型，如A5、东方之子和旗云则基本没有受到什么影响。奇瑞去年的汽车销售总量为392,000辆，比上一年增长了30%，这主要得益于海外的强劲需求。

The effect of the change began to hit small home-grown Chinese auto makers last year. Jin Yibo, a Chery spokesman, said the Anhui province auto maker noticed the trend in September when sales of its small cars began slipping substantially while people continued to flock to dealers for larger, more upscale cars. The change hit the QQ car particularly hard, even though the company's bigger models, such as the A5, the East Son and the Qiyun, felt little impact. Chery, whose sales totaled 392,000 vehicles last year, was able to boost sales, by 30% from a year earlier, largely because of strong demand for its car from overseas.

同样，由于出口强劲，吉利汽车2007年的净利润增长了51%，但公司并未完成年度销售目标。该公司称，去年的净利润增至3.15亿港元（4,040万美元），公司2007年收入增长8.0% ，至1.372亿港元，上年为1.27亿港元。吉利称，2007年共销售了181,517辆轿车，比上一年增长10%，但远低于最初所定24万辆的目标。这其中有2万辆轿车出口海外，比2006年的1万辆增加了一倍。

Similarly, Geely's 2007 net profit rose 51% on strong export demand, despite the company's failure to meet its annual sales target. The Zhejiang province-based manufacturer said net profit last year rose to HK$315 million (US$40.4 million). Revenue rose 8% to HK$137.2 million. Geely said it sold 181,517 cars in 2007, up 10% from a year earlier and far short of its original target of 240,000 units. Of the total, 20,000 cars were exported overseas, double the 10,000 sent in 2006.

独立和规模较小的汽车厂家面临的困境可能会让中国汽车工业逐步走向整合。中国目前有近100家公司生产轿车，但从长远看，大多数厂家将会消失，尤其是在汽车销量增幅逐步放缓的情况下。波士顿咨询公司(Boston Consulting Group)称，过去几年里市场的平均年增幅约为25%，去年中国的汽车销量超过了800万辆。这是美国销量的一半左右，但却是德国汽车销量的两倍以上。

Trouble for the small and independent auto makers could move the Chinese industry a step closer to a phase of consolidation. Nearly 100 companies make cars in China, but in the long run most will disappear, especially as growth in auto sales moderates. On average the market has grown about 25% a year for the past several years, and last year more than eight million cars were sold in China, according to Boston Consulting Group. That is about half as many as were sold in the U.S., but more than twice as many as in Germany.

波士顿咨询预计，在今后8年里，汽车销量年增速有望保持在8%左右。

During the next eight years, vehicle-sales growth is expected to average about 8% a year, according to estimates by Boston Consulting Group.

增长放缓已经打击了低端市场。密歇根州市场研究机构CSM Worldwide称，奇瑞QQ这样的微型车的销量去年仅增长了3.9%，为127万辆。而包括凯美瑞和捷达这种中型车和小型车阵营的销量则增长了32%，为334万辆。

Slower growth is already hitting the low end of the market. Sales of mini- and subcompact cars such as the Chery QQ grew just 3.9% last year, to 1.27 million vehicles, according to Northville, Michigan-based market researcher CSM Worldwide. In contrast, compact and midsize cars, a grouping that includes the Camry and Jetta, grew 32% to 3.34 million vehicles.

整合的迹象正在显现。去年，上海汽车工业(集团)总公司(Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp.)就收购了南京汽车(Nanjing Auto)。上海汽车是通用汽车在中国的两家合作伙伴之一。

Signs pointing to a consolidation are already cropping up. Last year, Nanjing Auto was acquired by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., or SAIC, one of GM's two partners in China.

CSM驻上海分析师张豫(Yale Zhang)说，显然，我们在今后5年里会看到更多的并购。我们会看到汽车业的动荡。

'For sure, we will see more mergers and acquisitions in the next five years,' said Yale Zhang, a SCM analyst in Shanghai. 'We're going to see a shakeout.'

为了生存，汽车厂家必须针对中国不断壮大的城市中产阶级做出调整，这一群体正变得更加富裕，更加成熟。一些中国汽车厂家已经开始主动适应这一局面。

To survive, auto makers must adjust to China's expanding urban middle class, which is getting both richer and more sophisticated. Some of China's auto makers are already scrambling to adapt.

比如，预计吉利下周将公布应对中国汽车市场最新一轮变化的举措。该公司计划在北京汽车展上展出几款概念车，显露一些未来车型的发展方向。有人称，这些车型会更大，更圆滑，显示出欧洲、日本和美国高级轿车的精致。

Geely, for instance, is expected to reveal next week how it plans to respond to this latest turn in the fast-changing Chinese auto market. At the Beijing auto show, the Hangzhou-based auto maker plans to show several 'concept' cars hinting at the direction of future models, which are going to be larger and sleeker and show the sophistication, some say, of top cars in Europe, Japan and the U.S.

波士顿咨询驻慕尼黑的研究员Nikolaus Lang说，10年前，当轿车刚开始进入中国中产阶层消费者的视野时，它们主要被当作市内交通工具，能满足中、低速驾驶即可。他最近完成了一项有关中国汽车业的研究。

A decade ago, when cars came within the reach of people entering China's middle class, they were primarily for city use with people driving at low speeds, said Nikolaus Lang, a Boston Consulting researcher in Munich, who recently completed a study on China's auto industry.

但他说，汽车厂家正面临中国消费文化大转变的时代，中国消费者现在要求产品有更高的安全性和质量，配置更加齐全。因此，他们开始青睐在安全性和质量方面经受过考验的大、中型外国车型。

But now auto makers are encountering 'an overall cultural shift among Chinese consumers demanding higher levels of safety, quality and integrity of products,' Mr. Lang said. As a result they are buying larger foreign models with proven track records in safety and quality.

27岁的北京人徐晨曦（音）就是其中之一。从英国留学回国后，他成立了一家房地产公司，得益于2008年北京奥运会推动的房地产热，他的业务蒸蒸日上。他一直驾驶着一辆2005年以11万元购买的别克HRV，这是一款四缸发动机的掀背式小车。

Chenxi 'Tony' Xu, a 27-year old Beijing native, is one of them. Educated in Britain, he set up a real-estate business that has taken off, thanks in part to the 2008 Olympic Games that have fueled a housing boom in China's capital. He has been driving a Buick HRV, a GM compact hatchback with small, four-cylinder engine that he bought in 2005 for 110,000 yuan.

但他正计划升级到奔驰(Mercedes-Benz) C200。这是一款动力强劲的运动型轿车，具有真皮座椅和根据路况自动调整悬挂设置的系统。价格是40万元。

But he is planning to upgrade to a Mercedes-Benz C200, a supercharged sports sedan with leather seats and a system that automatically adjusts the suspension setup depending on the condition of the road. The price tag: 400,000 yuan.

徐晨曦说，别克HRV虽然具有运动型外观，但发动机的马力太小。他对这款车的加速性能感到不满。他说，奔驰车能在8秒左右时间从静止状态提速到每小时100公里，而且安全性也很好。

'The thing about the Buick HRV is that it has a sporty look, but the engine is gutless,' Mr. Xu said, griping about the car's less-than-desirable acceleration. 'The Mercedes can hit 100 [kilometers an hour] from a standstill in about eight seconds, and the car is loaded with safety features.'

Norihiko Shirouzu

http://chinese.wsj.com/gb/20080417/chw122015.asp

新型节能汽车大赛令全球瞩目

Extra-Efficient Car Contest Attracts Global Attention

X Prize challenge aims to encourage unconventional thinking

华盛顿 -- 或许将可堪称为世纪之赛的一场汽车比赛已经起步，历时会长达两年之久。

Washington -- What may be the car race of the century is well under way and may take two years to finish. A $10 million award announced at the New York International Auto Show in March 2008 has attracted more than 60 teams, most of them from the United States but also from Australia, Canada, Germany, Finland, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

2008 年3月在"纽约国际车展 "(New York International Auto Show)上宣布的1000万美元X-大奖吸引了60多个参赛团队，其中大部分来自美国，但来自澳大利亚、加拿大、德国、芬兰、瑞士、土耳其和英国等国的团队也在跃跃欲试。然而，在轮胎踏路之前，参赛者必须首先设计和制造出他们的汽车，即耗油率必须达到每加仑至少100英里(3.8升/160公里)。这是由X-大奖基金会(X Prize Foundation )与进步(Progressive)保险公司共同宣布的进步保险X-汽车大奖(Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize)的主要条件。

But before rubber hits the road, the competitors first must design and build their cars -- vehicles that can go at least 100 miles (160 kilometers) on a gallon (3.8 liters) of fuel. This is the main condition of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, announced by the X Prize Foundation and the Progressive insurance company.

根据这项挑战，无论是初创企业还是大型汽车制造商，都必须不仅设计出超高节能汽车，而且制订出实可行的生产方案，并在2009年开始的一系列测试与竞赛中证明他们的产品经久耐用，安全可靠。X-大奖基金会主席迪亚蔓蒂斯(Peter Diamandis)在宣布这项挑战时说："我们说的不是概念车。我们说的是近期内可以上市、而且消费者愿意购买的实实在在的车。"

The challenge invites both startups and major car manufacturers not only to build an extra-efficient car but also to develop a viable manufacturing plan and prove the mettle and safety of their vehicle during a set of tests and races to begin in 2009.

“We are not talking about concept cars,” said Chairman of the X Prize Foundation Peter Diamandis while announcing the challenge. “We’re talking about real cars that can be brought to market in the near term that consumers will want to buy.”

X-大奖基金会是一个非营利教育组织。它创设并管理各种奖金，旨在驱使创新者去解决世界上最紧迫的问题。它致力于通过调动公众兴趣、企业创新精神和跨专业努力等多方因素，实现技术和市场突破。

The X Prize Foundation is a nonprofit educational organization that creates and manages prizes that drive innovators to solve the world’s most pressing problems. It seeks to leverage the elements of public interest, entrepreneurial spirit and cross-disciplinary effort to bring about technological and market breakthroughs.

X-大奖是在1996年由太空商业化活动的先驱者迪亚蔓蒂斯设立的。2004年，为了表彰安萨里(Ansari)家族的巨额捐款而重新命名为安萨里X-大奖。[参阅"首位伊朗裔美籍穆斯林女性登上太空 "]

The X Prize was established in 1996 by Diamandis, a pioneer in the arena of commercial space. In 2004, it was renamed the Ansari X Prize to reflect a multimillion-dollar donation from the Ansari family. (See “American, Iranian Cultures Support Space Pioneer's Achievements.”)

X- 大奖基金会体现了20世纪早期的私人赞助传统，那些赞助对20世纪20年代和30年代美国航空业的迅速发展功不可没。例如，由旅馆业钜头奥泰格 (Raymond Orteig )提供的25000美元奥泰格奖(Orteig Prize)促成了纽约与巴黎之间的首次成功直飞。获得该奖的林德伯格(Charles Lindbergh)在1927年完成这一飞行。

The foundation follows in the tradition of early 20th-century privately funded prizes that are credited for the rapid growth of U.S. aviation in the 1920s and 1930s. One of those awards was the $25,000 Orteig Prize, offered by hotel magnate Raymond Orteig for the first successful nonstop flight between New York and Paris. The prize went to Charles Lindbergh, who covered the distance in 1927.

X-大奖基金会与前辈一样，希望鼓励相对大公司和研究试验室而言，那些比较小规模、比较个体化、并且更富冒险精神的创新方式。该基金会在网站上表示："我们认为，一小批对某一事业怀抱满腔热忱的人能取得从未取得的成就。这就是我们组织竞争向最重要的问题展开挑战的道理。"

Like its predecessors, the X-Prize Foundation wants to encourage a smaller, more individualistic and more adventurous approach to innovation than practiced by large corporations and research laboratories.

“We believe that a small group of people with passion for a cause can achieve that which has never been attained. This is why we stage competitions that challenge issues that matter most,” says the foundation on its Web site.

2004年，1000万美元安萨里X-大奖(Ansari X Prize)被授予了研造出"太空船一号"(SpaceShipOne)的莫哈韦航空风险公司(Mojave Aerospace Ventures)，这是进入海拔100公里亚轨道的第一架民间造飞船。

In 2004, the $10 million Ansari X Prize was awarded to Mojave Aerospace Ventures for the flight of SpaceShipOne, the first privately built vehicle to reach space, defined as a suborbital altitude of 100 kilometers. (See “NASA Administrator Congratulates the SpaceShipOne Team.”)

在"太空船一号"成功之后，该基金会决定将重点转回地面。迪亚蔓蒂斯在基金会网站的视频声明中说："基金会的几乎所有人都表示：'我们需要推出一项汽车X-大奖。我们需鼓励发明新一代汽车，阻挡外国石油潮，帮助研制节能、实惠、受欢迎、低成本、可制造的汽车'。"

After the SpaceShipOne achievement, the foundation decided to come back to earth.

“Most everybody in the organization said: ‘We need to do an automotive X prize. We need to provide the incentives to build a new generation of cars that can stem the tide of foreign oil and help bring about cars that are efficient, that are affordable, desirable, low-cost, manufacturable,’” said Diamandis in a Web video statement.

一些已登记的竞争者在纽约车展上展出了模型。其中一组来自费城的高中生在老师瓦格(Simon Huager)的指导下，制造出取名为"袭击"(Attack)的生物柴油改装跑车，他们计划再将之改造成生物柴油与电能混合动力车。

Some of the registered competitors exhibited their prototypes at the New York auto show. Among them is a group of high school students from Philadelphia who, together with their teacher, Simon Huager, have built the biodiesel hot-rod Attack, which they plan to convert into a biodiesel-electric hybrid.

竞争者中还有六位加拿大工程师，他们制造了名符其实地以油蒸气为动力的三轮跑车(ale)；而一家洛杉矶的公司则正在研制流线型窄体汽电车"冒险一号"(VentureOne)，这种车将能像摩托车一样侧曲。

The list of competitors also includes six Canadian engineers, the builders of alé, a three-wheeler that runs on -- literally -- fuel vapors, and a company from Los Angeles working on a narrow, aerodynamic gas-electric vehicle called VentureOne that would lean into curves like a motorcycle.

迪亚曼蒂斯说："我不知道哪种技术会获胜──是纯电动、混合动力、还是我们今天发动机的某种翻版。但是我知道，X-大奖的鼓励能够为美国消费者带来最广泛的选择，也希望由此产生我们都喜欢开而又有利于环保的新一代汽车。"

“I don’t know what technology is going to win -- pure electric or hybrid or a version of the engines that we have today -- but I do know that an incentive X Prize can bring U.S. consumers the widest choice and, hopefully, give us a new generation of cars that we all love to drive and that are great for the environment,” Diamandis said.

For more information, see the Progressive Automotive X-Prize Web site.

http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-chinese&y=2008&m=April&x=20080409123742zjsredna0.3253748

美国汽车厂商踌躇满志开拓出口业务

Detroit Sets Bold Goal: Exporting US Cars

2008年04月09日13:26

去年达成的新劳动合同以及美元贬值等有利因素让美国汽车制造业焕发新鲜活力，眼下底特律的汽车制造商们纷纷摩拳擦掌，欲将大量的“美国造”汽车出口至世界各地。

Last year's landmark labor deals and the weak dollar are breathing new life into U.S. auto plants, leading Detroit's auto makers to plan sizable exports of U.S.-made vehicles to markets around the world.

通用汽车(General Motors Corp.)的高管证实，公司有意向欧洲、中国和包括巴西在内的拉美市场出口美国制造的汽车。克莱斯勒集团(Chrysler LLC)也主要在汇率因素的引诱下开始将生产从欧洲转移到美国，以利用低成本和现成产能的优势。据知情人士称，福特汽车(Ford Motor Co.)也在考虑增加出口，但前提是该公司能降低劳动力成本。

General Motors Corp. is looking to export U.S.-made vehicles to Europe as well as to China and Latin American markets such as Brazil, company executives confirmed. Chrysler LLC, primarily spurred by exchange rates, has already started shifting production from Europe to the U.S. to take advantage of lower costs and available plant capacity. Ford Motor Co. is considering ramping up exports if it can bring labor costs down, people familiar with the matter said.

多年以来，美国一直是全世界汽车制造成本最高昂的地方。但去年秋季制造商们与全美汽车工人联合会(United Auto Workers, UAW)签订的新劳动合同极大地提升了三大汽车制造商的全球竞争力。再加上美元贬值，使得在美国生产的成本不再那么昂贵，也有助于扭转美国汽车制造业的颓势。

For years the U.S. has been one of the most expensive places in the world to make cars. But the new contracts with the United Auto Workers union signed last fall significantly improve the global competitive position of Big Three plants. The weaker dollar, which makes production in the U.S. less expensive, is also helping to turn the economics of domestic production upside down.

UAW派驻通用汽车田纳西州斯普林希尔一家汽车组装厂的官员麦克?赫隆(Mike Herron)称，美元贬值加上新的劳动合同，我们在向其他国家出口产品并实现盈利方面取得了巨大的优势。赫隆曾参与UAW和通用汽车间的劳动合同谈判。

'Combined with the weak dollar, we've got a contract that puts ourselves in a great position to ship products to other countries and do it making a profit,' said Mike Herron, a UAW official at GM's assembly plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., who is involved in negotiations with the company.

美国汽车制造业竞争力回升让外国同行感到不安，因为他们的员工没有加入工会。据知情人士透露，丰田汽车(Toyota Motor)眼下正着手降低在美国的劳动力成本。

Detroit's improved competitive position has sparked concern among foreign manufacturers, which do not use unionized U.S. workers. Toyota Motor Corp. is now pushing to lower labor costs in the U.S., say people familiar with the matter.

通用汽车计划在今年晚些时候开始向中国出口密歇根州兰辛制造的“别克Enclave”7座混合型运动多用途汽车(SUV)。在中国，别克是个热卖品牌。通用汽车发言人迪?艾伦(Dee Allen)表示，公司希望最终每年能向中国出口2.5万辆Enclave。

Later this year, GM will begin shipping the Buick Enclave, a seven-passenger crossover sport-utility vehicle made in Lansing, Mich., to China, where the Buick brand is a big seller. GM hopes eventually to export as many as 25,000 Enclaves a year to China, said Dee Allen, a GM spokesman.

通用汽车管理人员称，公司还打算向巴西和其他拉美国家出口在堪萨斯和密歇根生产的雪佛兰Malibu轿车，可能还有其他美国产汽车。

GM is making plans to sell the Chevrolet Malibu, a sedan made in Kansas and Michigan, and possibly other U.S.-made passenger cars in Brazil and other Latin American markets, GM executives have said.

知情人士称，通用还向UAW官员表示，正在慎重考虑在俄亥俄州的洛兹敦生产一款新的小型汽车，出口北美之外的市场。据悉，这款车是2010年之前将在此地生产的5款新车之一。由于高昂的UAW劳动力成本，有42年历史的洛兹敦装配厂曾一度被纳入有可能关闭的行列。

The company also has told UAW officials it is seriously considering building a future small car in Lordstown, Ohio, that would be exported to markets outside North America, people familiar with the matter said. It would be one of five new vehicles being produced there near the turn of the decade, one of these people said. The 42-year-old Lordstown assembly plant had been considered a candidate for closure due to high UAW labor costs.

通用总裁兼首席运营长弗雷德里克?亨德森(Frederick Henderson)在一封电邮中说，通用最近重新设计的几款车在美国广受欢迎，我们认为它在全球其他许多市场也会有极大的潜力，并着眼于这样的机会。

GM's president and chief operating officer, Frederick Henderson, said in an email that several of GM's recently redesigned models have 'gotten great acceptance in the U.S. and we believe it has significant potential in many other markets globally, and we are looking at such opportunities.'

他还说，美元走软增强了出口竞争力和潜在的盈利能力。

The 'more competitive U.S. dollar improves export competitiveness and potential profitability,' he added.

克莱斯勒的发言人说，公司一直利用合同制造商装配在欧洲销售的小型货车，但这桩交易在2007年之后就终止了，今年克莱斯勒开始向欧洲出口圣路易斯附近的一间工厂生产的道奇Caravan小型货车，这款车在欧洲冠以克莱斯勒Voyager的品牌。

Chrysler had been using a contract manufacturer to assemble minivans for sale in Europe, but it chose not to extend the deal beyond 2007 and this year started exporting the Dodge Caravan minivan -- branded Chrysler Voyager in Europe -- made in a plant near St. Louis to Europe, a company spokeswoman said.

克莱斯勒还向几个欧洲国家出口伊利诺伊州贝尔维德生产的小型道奇车和吉普车。今年迄今为止，出口汽车已逾1.5万辆，比上年同期增长约40%。

It is also exporting increasing numbers of compact Dodge and Jeep models made in Belvidere, Ill., to several European countries. So far this year, more than 15,000 have been exported, up about 40% from the year-earlier period.

知情人士称，克莱斯勒较大的吉普车依然在欧洲生产，但其与欧洲制造商Magna Steyr AG的吉普车生产合同将于2009年到期，克莱斯勒在考虑届时将生产转到美国。

Chrysler still has larger Jeeps made in Europe but is looking at moving that production to its U.S. plants when the Jeep contract with its European manufacturer, Magna Steyr AG, expires in 2009, a person familiar with the matter said.

知情人士称，去年秋季，福特的管理层给工会谈判代表画了张大饼，说如果生产成本能更具竞争力，UAW生产的汽车将有更多出口机会。另外的知情人士说，现在，福特正在考虑，如果经济帐算得过来的话，就向巴西和墨西哥等地出口Ranger小型皮卡和福克斯(Focus)小型汽车。

Ford executives last fall dangled a carrot to union negotiators, saying exporting opportunities for UAW-built vehicles could increase with more competitive manufacturing costs, a person familiar with the matter said. Now Ford is mulling exporting the Ranger small pickup truck and Focus small car to places such as Brazil and Mexico when the economics make sense, another person familiar with the matter said.

位于密歇根州诺斯威尔的咨询公司CSM Worldwide的分析师麦克尔?罗宾纳特(Michael Robinet)说，去年秋季签定的UAW协议更加确保了从美国工厂出口汽车有利可图。他说，美元走软和新的UAW劳动合同的组合效应令美国成了跟中国和巴西一样的低成本国家。

The UAW contract signed last fall added assurance that exporting from U.S. plants could be viable, said Michael Robinet, an analyst at Northville, Mich., consulting firm CSM Worldwide. The combined effects from a falling dollar and the new UAW labor contract 'make the U.S. a low-cost country' like China and Brazil, he said.

新的UAW合同产生了新一代美国汽车工人，他们的薪资福利更接近于丰田给美国工人的报酬，新员工的薪水为每小时14美元，而非以前的26美元。同时，金额达数十亿美元的退休人员医疗费此前给三大厂商造成沉重负担，现在也转给了外部的信托基金。

The new UAW contracts create a new generation of U.S. auto workers with wages and benefits more in line with what Toyota pays its U.S. workers, with wages for new hires at $14 an hour instead of the previous $26. It also offloads billions of dollars in retiree health-care liabilities hobbling the Big Three to outside trust funds.

丰田管理人员说，为了保持竞争力，丰田建新厂时已不再按UAW的标准支付薪资。他们说，公司不会降低现有工人的薪水，但新员工的薪水超出工厂所在地制造业普遍薪水的幅度不高于50%。

To stay competitive, Toyota has stopped pegging its wages to UAW rates when it builds new plants, company executives said. It won't cut wages of current workers, but new hires will be paid no more than 50% above the prevailing manufacturing wage in the area where a plant is located, they said.

出口大量美国产汽车在帮助三大厂商扭转无利可图的北美运营状况方面大有可为，或许还能帮助这些厂商开发迅速发展的海外市场，尤其是在美国的销量受到经济危机的沉重打击之际。出口有助于降低每辆车的成本，并能利用过剩的产能。

Exporting a large number of U.S.-made cars could go a long way in helping the Big Three turn around their unprofitable North American operations. It could also help them tap faster-growing overseas markets, especially at a time when U.S. sales have been hit by economic worries. Exports could help lower costs per vehicle and use up excess manufacturing capacity.

不过挑战依然存在。这些公司必须想出办法，在不超出有限预算的情况下满足多个国家的需求。如果不能吸引足够多的工人接受一次性补偿自愿离职或是提前退休，以便为薪资福利较低的新雇员腾出工作机会，这个方案仍可能失败。在克莱斯勒和福特，接受一次性补偿自愿离职的工人数量比公司希望的要少。

Challenges remain. The companies must figure out how to meet demand in an array of countries without busting their limited budgets. The concept could still fizzle if they can't entice enough current workers to accept buyouts or early retirement deals to open jobs for new hires who would get reduced wages and benefits. Both Chrysler and Ford have gotten fewer takers than they had hoped for their buyout packages.

增加出口也要求在海外市场有更好的渠道，尤其是在亚洲，那里的一些国家让美国汽车无机可乘，相反还向美国出口数百万辆车。俄罗斯是大切诺基(Jeep Grand Cherokee)等车型的重大潜在市场，但对进口商品课以重税。通用管理层最近有所调整，其总裁兼首席执行长瓦格纳(Rick Wagoner)将在监管方面的问题上投入更多时间，同时各大汽车制造商也向总统候选人提出了这个问题。

Increasing exports also requires better access to overseas markets, especially in Asia where some countries lock out Detroit's vehicles while sending millions of cars to the U.S. Russia, a big potential market for vehicles like the Jeep Grand Cherokee, imposes heavy tariffs on imports. GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner will devote more time to regulatory issues under a recent management shift there, and the auto makers have pressed the issue with the presidential candidates.

据美国商务部的数据，去年美国出口的小汽车和轻型卡车总值506.6亿美元，为其进口额的三分之一。其出口量约有半数流入邻近的墨西哥和加拿大。其余大多为别的地方无法供应的高档汽车。

The U.S. last year exported $50.66 billion worth of cars and light trucks, according to the Commerce Department, or about a third of what it imported. Roughly half of its exports are to neighboring Mexico and Canada. Much of the rest consists of higher-end vehicles unavailable elsewhere.

底特律的汽车厂商认为，它们现在可以出口更多面向大众市场的汽车。在新的合同签定之前，美国的汽车行业劳动力成本比法国和日本高50%。只有德国的劳动力成本高于美国。

Detroit's auto makers believe they can now export more mass-market vehicles. Until the new contract was signed, auto labor in the U.S. was 50% more expensive than in France and Japan. Only Germany had higher labor costs than the U.S.

受美元走软的影响，外国汽车厂商也更多地把目光投向了美国。宝马汽车公司(BMW AG)在南卡罗来纳州的工厂投入了7.5亿美元，以大幅提高美国的产量，其中大多在欧洲销售。大众汽车(Volkswagen AG)考虑在北美建立一间新工厂，许多观察家都预计地点会在美国。意大利的菲亚特公司(Fiat S.p.A.)上周证实，其已开始讨论，想寻找合作伙伴装配在美国生产的阿尔法?罗米欧(Alfa Romeo)汽车。

Spurred by the dollar, foreign auto makers are also devoting more attention to the U.S. BMW AG is pumping $750 million into its South Carolina plant to significantly expand U.S. output, much of which is earmarked for Europe. Volkswagen AG is looking to build a new plant in North America, and many observers expect it to be in the U.S. Italy's Fiat SpA last week confirmed it is beginning discussions to find a partner that can assemble Alfa Romeo cars built in the U.S.

这股潮流并非仅限于大厂商。北卡罗来纳州初创公司Tesla Motors开发了一款电动汽车，最近该公司决定废止在泰国生产价值两万多美元的电池的计划。相反，由于汇率的原因，该公司将在美国组装元件。Telsa还将在欧洲销售汽车的计划提前一年，寄希望于向以欧元支付的买家销售汽车以实现高额利润。

The trend isn't limited to the big players. Tesla Motors, a Northern California start-up developing an electric car, recently decided to scrap plans to build its $20,000-plus batteries in Thailand. Instead, it will assemble the components in the U.S. because of currency values. Tesla has also pushed ahead its plan to sell cars in Europe by one year in hopes of banking big profits by selling cars to buyers paying in euros.

成本并非美国汽车厂商实现出口的唯一障碍。通用发现其许多美国产汽车在海外缺乏吸引力。通用、克莱斯勒和福特的同一款车在美国和欧洲市场通常有不同车型，这就让它们难以在同一间工厂同时生产两款车。福特福克斯的美国版与欧洲版的基本结构都不一样。结果，就算亚洲、东欧和拉美汽车销量猛增，出口美国汽车也没有太大的经济意义。

Costs weren't the only barrier to exports for Detroit. GM found the appeal for many of its U.S.-made vehicles overseas was lacking. GM, Chrysler and Ford often made different versions of the same vehicles for the U.S. and Europe, which precluded them from producing both in the same plant. The U.S. version of the Ford Focus is made from different underpinnings than the Focus sold in Europe. As a result, it made little economic sense to export U.S.-made vehicles even as auto sales soared in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.

随着美元在过去几年中节节走软，汽车厂商也开始反思自己的策略，它们还开始开发全球性的平台，进而拿出一套统一的基本结构，以便实现在全球销售。

The auto makers began rethinking their options as the dollar plunged over the past few years. They also began developing global platforms that will give them a single set of underpinnings for vehicles they can sell around the world.

通用拉美、非洲和中东区总裁莫琳?肯普斯顿-达克斯(Maureen Kempston-Darkes)在一次采访中说，她急于利用美国的一切条件来推动自己所负责的86个国家的突破性增长。

The head of the GM unit covering Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, Maureen Kempston-Darkes, said in an interview she is eager to 'tap what the U.S. has' to fuel the breakneck growth in the 86 countries she oversees.

肯普斯顿-达克斯所负责的地区对通用至关重要，贡献了全球收入的10%。去年，该地区的销售额达183亿美元，较2003年的50亿美元大幅增长。到2010年，通用的目标是在该地区实现250亿美元的收入，目前该地区是利润最丰厚的。

Ms. Kempston-Darkes's region is a critical arm of GM, contributing 10% of global revenue. Last year its sales totaled $18.3 billion, up from $5 billion in 2003. By 2010, GM aims to bank $25 billion in revenue from the region, which currently is by far its most profitable.

John D. Stoll / Norihiko Shirouzu / Neal E. Boudette

http://chinese.wsj.com/gb/20080409/ffe132017.asp

汽车为何越来越难修？

Why Are Cars Harder To Fix?

2008年04月08日10:03

上周末，我女儿的雪佛兰HHR汽车(Chevrolet HHR)前车灯烧坏了，我只好帮她更换。我觉得这是件可以自己动手来做的事，于是就去当地的汽车配件店买了一个卤素灯泡，回家后把汽车前盖打开。

Last weekend, I had to replace a burned-out headlight on my daughter's Chevrolet HHR. I figured this was a do-it-yourself job. So I went to my local auto-parts store, scored a new halogen bulb, went home and popped the hood.

经过大约45分钟的埋头苦干，在埋怨多次之后，车灯终于搞定。在更换坏灯泡的过程中，我用了一个管钳和几个老虎钳，把左前轮轮毂内侧的塑胶衬里掀开一部分，取出两种共约6个扣件。然后把手伸进一大堆乱七八糟的电线里，找到坏掉的灯泡，把连接电线拔掉，旋下灯泡，换上一个新的。整个过程都凭感觉完成，因为我看不见自己的手，只能让手在挡泥板内到处摸索，在半掀开的塑胶衬里和车灯旁的电线及金属之间黑暗作业。

Roughly 45 minutes and a few choice words later, I got the job done. In the course of replacing one burned-out bulb, I used a socket wrench and pliers to partially remove a plastic liner inside the left front wheel well. I took out about a half-dozen fasteners, of two different kinds. Then I had to work my hand through a tangle of wires to get at the offending bulb, disconnect it, twist it out and then replace it. I did all this by feel, because I couldn't see my hand, wedged inside the fender between the half removed plastic liner and the wires and metal around the light.

完事后，我不得不把身上穿的全都扔进洗衣机，因为在拆除和重新安装挡泥板内衬时，我一直躺在车底下。

When I was done, I had to toss everything I had been wearing into the wash, since I'd wound up on my back under the car during the process of detaching and reattaching the fender liner.

没错，我读了车主手册上的说明，也是按着上面指示的步骤做的。我只能这么说，手册对于更换灯泡的困难程度低估了一半。

Yes, I read the directions in the owners' manual and did what they instructed. Let's just say the manual understated the degree of difficulty by half.

其实，除了像我这样的业余修车族之外，还有很多人也都在纳闷，现在的汽车怎么那么难修。更换损坏的部件或是修复 坏的汽车的难度日益增大，甚至令修车行业和保险公司头疼不已。

It turns out amateurs like me aren't the only ones wondering why some of today's vehicles are such bears to repair. The difficulty of replacing broken parts or restoring vehicles damaged in collisions is a growing concern to the auto-service and collision trades and the insurance industry.

美国汽车服务协会(Automotive Service Association)车辆碰撞维修部经理丹尼斯?卡斯珀森(Denise Caspersen)说，“汽车的修理难度越来越高。”

'Vehicles are becoming more and more difficult to repair,' says Denise Caspersen, manager of the collision division for the Automotive Service Association.

为了让汽车更安全、更轻、更省油，汽车制造商在车身上使用各种新型材料，如高强度钢、铝、钢塑混合夹层等。这给汽车修理厂带来挑战，因为维修技师现在已经不能断定，他们切割或焊接的是不是传统的钢铁金属。

In their quest to make cars safer, lighter and more fuel efficient, car makers are using more exotic materials in the bodies of vehicles, such as high-strength steels, aluminum, steel-plastic sandwiches. That presents a challenge to body-repair shops because technicians now can't just assume that the metal they are cutting or welding is old-fashioned steel.

现在的汽车配有更多的安全气囊，在车体内部和整个车身也都有更多复杂的电子设备。卡斯珀森说道，修理严重损毁的汽车成了一项复杂的工作，导致保险公司出险车辆中全损的情况日益增加，可修复的情况日益减少。

Modern vehicles also have more airbags and more sophisticated electronics under the hood and throughout the body. The complexity of repairing a badly crashed vehicle has led to a rise in the number of vehicles that are declared total losses by insurance companies, rather than repaired, Ms. Caspersen says.

店面数量排名美国第一的汽车零售商AutoNation Inc.公司固定业务部经理汤姆?凯洛维(Tom Calloway)在一封电子邮件中说：随着无级变速、电子助力转向系统和用于管理各种功能的车载电脑等高科技的广泛应用，对汽车的常规修理可能会“力不从心”。

Tom Calloway, manager of fixed operations for AutoNation Inc., the largest U.S. auto retailer by dealerships, says in an email that routine repairs can get 'pretty serious,' given the proliferation of new technology such as continuously variable transmissions, electric steering or onboard computer networks managing various functions.

在修理混合动力汽车时，情况会变得更加有意思。维修技师不得不到学校去“回炉”，学习如何安全地修理混合动力系统。

Throw in a hybrid drive system, and things get even more interesting. Auto-service technicians are going back to school to learn how to work safely on hybrid systems.

保险公司和修车行业担心修理汽车变得过于复杂，因此在努力说服汽车制造商，把维修简便性做为考虑的重点。

The concern about repair complexity is spurring efforts by the insurance and repair industries to persuade car makers to make ease of repair a higher priority.

美国公路安全保险协会(Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Vehicle，IIHS)研究中心的资深副总裁乔?诺兰(Joe Nolan)说道，一个名为“汽车维修研究委员会”(Research Council for Automobile Repairs)的组织正在规划一个网站，目的是向汽车设计师提供相关数据，鼓励他们在设计汽车时更多地考虑维修简便性。

One group called the Research Council for Automobile Repairs is planning a Web site that will offer vehicle designers data aimed at encouraging them to make vehicles more repair friendly, says Joe Nolan, senior vice president for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Vehicle Research Center.

诺兰说，IIHS并不直接参与汽车维修。但该协会在对汽车保险杠进行测试时，发现车辆维修成本过高的问题。

The IIHS isn't directly involved in repair issues, he says. But the Institute has highlighted the problem of high repair costs in its tests of vehicle bumpers.

汽车制造商往往需要满足顾客各种互相冲突的需求。当更换灯泡或滤油器时，人们希望车子的结构很传统，打开前盖就能看到车身和发动机之间清晰而宽松的排线；但当更换燃油泵，或是想找一个车位时，又会希望排线紧凑，汽车小巧轻便──这就要求车前盖下的各个部件排列非常紧密。

Auto makers, as is often the case, must juggle competing demands. When it's time to change a light bulb or an oil filter, I wish I had an old-fashioned car where you could open up the hood and see the driveway through the big spaces between the body and the engine. But when I go to the fuel pump, or try to find a parking space, I want a car that's light and efficient -- which means all the bits and pieces need to be very close together under the hood.

由于汽车制造商必须要达到每加仑汽油平均跑35英里的新燃油经济性标准，生产紧凑型汽车、降低车身重量的动力只会变得更大。

The drive to reduce weight by making cars more compact will get only more intense as auto makers strive to achieve the new 35 miles per gallon fleet average fuel-economy standard.

尽管如此，汽车制造商仍在对修车行业和保险公司的要求作出回应。

Still, car makers are responding to the service and insurance industry's pleas.

丰田汽车公司(Toyota Motor Corp.)的发言人Bill Kwong在一封电子邮件中说：丰田正在设计一种配备“前防撞盒”的汽车，在车辆发生碰撞后，能把防撞盒卸下，直接更换新的。丰田还在设计一种更易于更换的前车灯。

Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman Bill Kwong says in an email that Toyota is also designing vehicles with 'front crush boxes,' which are designed so they can be unbolted after a collision and replaced. Toyota also is designing headlamps to be more easily replaced.

通用汽车公司(General Motors Corp.)服务与配件部的总工程师小约瑟夫?菲兹西蒙斯(Joseph Fitzsimmons Jr.)说道，大约五年前，通用汽车加大努力，在汽车设计流程中将维修简便性考虑进去，为此专门派售后服务部门的工程师与汽车设计团队的设计师和工程师共同工作。

General Motors Corp., about five years ago, intensified efforts to consider ease of repair during the vehicle-design process, assigning engineers from the service operation to work alongside vehicle designers and engineers, says Joseph Fitzsimmons Jr., chief engineer for the GM Service and Parts Operations.

他说道，现在，通用汽车的工程师能在电脑屏幕的设计蓝图上虚拟出一只挥动扳手的手，检测这种设计是否会给维修技师带来麻烦。

GM engineers now can use a virtual hand, wielding a virtual wrench, to test whether a design that exists only in digital form on a screen will result in a hard time for a mechanic, he says.

菲兹西蒙斯说，现在通用汽车公司设计的仪表盘都留有简便的维修通道，让维修技师或自己修车的人能轻松接触到保险丝或其它零部件，而不用把仪表盘整个拆开。

The result, Mr. Fitzsimmons says, is that GM is now designing instrument panels so that there are access panels a mechanic, or do-it-yourselfer, could remove easily to get access to fuses or other components, rather than disassembling the dashboard.

通用汽车也为汽车撞击修复专家考虑，设计出新的大型皮卡货车，其车身能进行分区切割，因此只需换下撞坏的部分。同样，这种货车的前后部均为独立安装，修复时不必更换整个车身，他说道。

For collision-repair specialists, GM designed its new large pickups so that the frames can be cut in sections so that only damaged pieces need to be replaced. The same trucks are designed so that a new front end can be installed without replacing the entire frame of the truck, he says.

菲兹西蒙斯说，对于小一点的车辆，要在更小的空间内实现维修简便性更不容易，但并非完全不可能。

'It does get more challenging when you've got a smaller physical space' in a small vehicle, Mr. Fitzsimmons says. 'But it's not impossible.'

Joseph B. White

http://chinese.wsj.com/gb/20080408/fea101051.asp

北京现代欲借悦动轿车扭转颓势

Hyundai Rolls Out New Sedan

2008年04月08日10:48

现代汽车公司(Hyundai Motor Co.)及其在华合资企业将专门针对中国市场推出一款造型精致的家庭型轿车；眼下这家韩国汽车企业正努力在中国这个全球增长最快的汽车市场上夺回失地。

Hyundai Motor Co. and its Chinese joint-venture partner are rolling out a spiffed-up family sedan made exclusively for China, as the South Korean auto maker seeks to regain its footing in the world's fastest-growing major auto market.

现代汽车和北京汽车工业控股有限公司(Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co.)的合资企业北京现代汽车有限公司(Beijing Hyundai Motors)旗下一家新厂将于周二落成，正是这家工厂将为中国市场生产新款伊兰特悦动轿车。公司高管预计今年这款新车的销量有望达到10万辆。

Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., the joint venture with Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., will make the Elantra Yuedong, a fancier version of the compact Elantra sedan, at a new plant set to open in Beijing Tuesday. The company expects to sell 100,000 of the new model this year, executives say.

在中国这个仅次于美国的全球第二大汽车市场上，现代汽车的销量和占有率一直在下滑，而其管理人士还一度乐观地预计，借助中国市场公司将跻身全球一流汽车制造商之列。在最初的风光过后，现代汽车的日子就变得不太好过了，因为中国消费者要么青睐美国、欧洲和日本的名牌车，要么转向较为便宜的本土品牌汽车。和2006年相比，现代汽车2007年在中国市场的的销量下滑了18%。

Hyundai's sales and market share have been declining in China -- the world's second-biggest vehicle market after the U.S., and one that Hyundai executives once predicted would propel their company into the top ranks of global auto makers. After an initial burst, Hyundai has struggled as Chinese buyers have opted for U.S., European and Japanese brands with more cachet, or have gone for less-expensive models from Chinese domestic makers. Hyundai sold 18% fewer cars in China in 2007 than it did in 2006.

北京现代副总经理金泰成表示，去年公司在中国市场中遇到了一些困难，问题就在于我们没有新车推出。

'Last year we had difficulties in China. . . . The problem was we had no new car introduced,' says Kim Tae-seong, a deputy general manager for Beijing Hyundai.

为了扭转局面，公司将宝押在了新款伊兰特之上，届时现有的“旧”款伊兰特仍将在市场中销售，后者虽然是现代在中国市场中的销售冠军，但其销量也出现了严重下滑。该公司2007年售出了120,333辆伊兰特，比06年减少近30%。

To turn things around, Hyundai is looking to the new version of the Elantra. The current Elantra, which will remain on the market, is Hyundai's best-selling model in China, though it, too, has seen steep declines. Hyundai sold 120,333 Elantras in 2007, down nearly 30% from the year before.

悦动轿车的高配置版拥有天窗和真皮座椅，这样能吸引那些在意车辆外形但又预算偏紧的消费者。这款还装备了前排双安全气囊的新车售价定于人民币99,800－129,800元，约合14,000－18,500美元。

Higher-end versions of the new Elantra Yuedong will have sunroofs and leather seats as standard features to appeal to image-conscious but budget-constrained Chinese buyers. The new Elantra also will have dual front-seat air bags. The car will be priced from 99,800 yuan to 129,800 yuan, or about $14,000 to $18,500.

金泰成表示，悦动瞄准的是那些目前无力购买豪华汽车但对车辆外观颇为讲究的消费者。

The Elantra Yuedong is aimed at consumers 'who don't have enough money' for a luxury car but who 'really care about the appearance of their cars,' Mr. Kim says.

现代汽车计划日后将在中国开始生产豪华汽车。目前该公司在华生产的汽车包括中型汽车索纳塔(Sonata)，以及圣达菲(Santa Fe)等运动型多用途车(SUV)。

Down the road, Hyundai plans to start manufacturing a luxury car in China. The auto maker's current China lineup includes the midsize Sonata sedan as well as the Santa Fe and other sport-utility vehicles.

现代汽车驻北京的高管Ed Yoon表示，北京现代的长期计划是推出自己的豪华车，不过公司目前并没有一个敲定的时间表。今年1月份，现代汽车在韩国推出了一款名为Genesis的豪华车，并计划在6月份将其引入美国市场。

Beijing Hyundai's 'long-term plan is to produce its own luxury car, though we don't have a fixed plan for when that is right now,' says Ed Yoon, a Hyundai executive in Beijing. Hyundai introduced a luxury sedan, the Genesis, in South Korea in January and plans to start selling it in the U.S. in June.

紧凑型汽车在中国车市中竞争最为激烈的领域之一。伊兰特的竞争对手包括大众汽车(Volkswagen)在本土生产的捷达(Jetta)、别克(Buick)的凯越(Excelle)、丰田(Toyota)的花冠(Corolla)；以及奇瑞汽车(Chery)的A5和比亚迪(BYD)的F3。

Compact cars are one of the most competitive parts of China's auto market. The Elantra competes with the locally produced Volkswagen Jetta, Buick Excelle and Toyota Corolla, as well as domestic makes, such as the Chery A5 and the BYD F3.

不过CSM Worldwide的汽车行业分析师张豫指出，伊兰特从2003年12月起就已投放中国市场，已基本走完了汽车产品五至六年的自然生命周期，需要用新车型取而代之。

But the Elantra, which was introduced in China in December 2003, is nearing its natural five-to-six-year life cycle for cars and needs to be replaced, says Yale Zhang, an auto analyst at CSM Worldwide.

张豫表示，无论哪家汽车企业想赢得中国市场，都必须在紧凑型汽车领域表现出色，其具体办法就是不断地推陈出新。

'Whoever wants to win the China market must do well in' the compact-car segment by constantly refreshing its product lines, Mr. Zhang says.

现代汽车表示，它的目标客户年龄介于25至35岁之间，家庭月收入在1,700美元左右，或者较之稍低。现代的管理人士表示，这些中产阶级非常关注油耗问题，而对油价上涨的担忧限制了他们对大车的消费热情。考虑到这点，现代公司将为悦动装配节省燃油的矽胎。

Hyundai says it is aiming at buyers between the ages of 25 and 35 who have a monthly family income of about $1,700 or below. These middle-class drivers are very focused on fuel efficiency, and concern about rising gasoline prices has damped their desire for bigger cars, Hyundai executives say. To that end, Beijing Hyundai is fitting the new Elantra with fuel-saving silica tires.

公司管理人士表示，他们希望能赢得这些汽车爱好者的品牌忠诚度，并且随着后者年龄的增长和荷包的充实，公司能向他们销售更多较为昂贵的汽车。金泰成表示，公司准备好要追随消费者的财富增长势头。

Executives say they hope to win loyalty from this group of car lovers as they grow older and more affluent and step up to more expensive cars. 'We are prepared to follow their fortunes,' says Mr. Kim.

将有强大的营销攻势围绕着悦动而展开，而宣传的重点就是把它描述为花冠的替代产品。现代的管理者表示，悦动将比花冠更省油、动力更强劲，而售价比后者便宜了约18%。记者未能联系到丰田汽车的发言人就此置评。

Marketing for the Elantra Yuedong will pitch the car most aggressively as an alternative to Toyota Motor Corp.'s Corolla. Executives say the new Elantra will be more fuel-efficient and powerful than the Corolla and will cost about 18% less. Toyota couldn't be reached for comment.

北京现代表示将投入570万美元在互联网、电视及印刷媒体上为悦动的上市进行广告宣传。

Beijing Hyundai says it will spend as much as $5.7 million on Internet, television and print advertising for the car's launch.

金泰成表示，我们的品牌号召力不如花冠，但我们在生产上不落人后，而且价格更为理想。

'Our [brand] power is weaker than the Corolla,' says Mr. Kim. 'But there is no weakness in our productivity, and our price is better.'

Jason Leow / Gordon Fairclough

http://chinese.wsj.com/gb/20080408/bas105328.asp

北美汽车业三月倒春寒

Auto Sales Fall Steeply; Toyota Faces Overcapacity

2008年04月02日16:21

刚刚过去的三月，随着经济加速下滑，汽车业销售下降的势头进一步加剧，就连丰田汽车(Toyota Motor)这样的强手也未能幸免。

The auto industry's sales slump deepened sharply in March amid a powerful economic downdraft, and even once-invincible Toyota Motor Corp. took a big hit.

这家日本汽车巨头第一次面对其美国竞争对手多年来深受其扰的问题，那就是整个北美汽车市场产能严重过剩。三月份丰田销量较上年同期下降了10%，与同期美国汽车销量12%的降幅相比也就是“五十步笑百步”。

The Japanese auto giant is now dealing for the first time with the problem that plagued its U.S. rivals for years: too much North American manufacturing capacity. Toyota's sales fell 10% in March compared with the same month a year earlier, only slightly better than the 12% decline in total U.S. vehicle sales.

据丰田汽车人士表示，这是过去9个月来丰田月度销售第七次下滑，也是八十年代初以来最糟糕的一段时期。丰田一位了解生产情况的人士说，我们在这里的闲置产能几乎相当于一整座装配厂的规模。

It was the seventh drop for Toyota in the past nine months -- its worst stretch since the early 1980s, according to company officials. 'We have almost one assembly plant's worth of idle capacity,' said a Toyota executive familiar with manufacturing.

这一情况显示，美国金融业和住房市场的溃败给美国经济带来的打击已蔓延到汽车业。当人们看到自己的住房在贬值的时候，在消费上就会缩手缩脚，而像汽车这样的大件商品通常会是首当其冲推迟购买的东西。

That's a stark signal of the malaise now afflicting auto makers in the U.S. as the troubles on Wall Street and in the housing market take a rising toll on the economy. When people see the value of their homes decline -- and real-estate executives say home-price falls around the country are the worst since the 1930s -- expensive purchases such as a car are often the first to get postponed.

汽油价格居高不下、就业市场疲软、信贷市场紧缩等诸多因素均是打压汽车销售的因素。许多银行要求购买汽车的贷款人具有更高的信用级别，并提高了首付比例，特别是在那些发生住房止赎最严重的州更是如此。

High gasoline prices, a weak jobs market and the credit crunch are all driving down car sales. Many lenders are requiring higher credit scores and demanding bigger down payments on car loans, especially in states hard-hit by housing foreclosures.

据通用汽车(General Motors Corp.)和克莱斯勒(Chrysler LLC)公布的数字，3月份它们的销售量均下降了19%，福特(Ford Motor Co.)稍好一些，但降幅也有14%。只有少数汽车厂商预计下半年销售会转好，其中包括通用。该公司分析师迈克尔?迪吉瓦尼(Michael DiGiovanni)在电话会议上说，公司认为存在一些积极因素，包括降息、不久的所得税退税等。

In March, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC each reported sales drops of 19%, and Ford Motor Co. a decline of 14%. GM remained one of the few auto companies betting sales will pick up in the second half of the year. In a conference call, GM sales analyst Michael DiGiovanni said the company 'sees a lot of positives out there' such as interest-rate cuts and an income-tax rebate most Americans will receive later this spring.

迪吉瓦尼说，我们认为，接下来几个月这些因素将对经济产生一定积极影响。

'We expect that to have an impact in the economy in the next several months,' Mr. DiGiovanni said.

通用说，它一直宣传卖得很好的雪佛兰(Chevrolet) Malibu三月份的销售与上年持平，除GMC外其全部品牌销量均出现下滑。

Sales of the Chevrolet Malibu, which GM has touted as a hot seller, were flat compared with a year ago, according to GM, and all of its brands except GMC reported sales declines.

据Autodata Corp.提供的数据，3月份轿车和轻型卡车总销量为1,356,868辆，而一年前是1,542,230辆。

Overall, March sales of cars and light trucks fell to 1,356,868 from 1,542,230 a year ago, according to Autodata Corp.

如按3月份的销量计算并进行季节性调整后，全年销量将达到1,510万辆，而业内认为的正常水平应在1,600万辆。

The March sales rate translates into a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 15.1 million, below the 16 million considered healthy by the industry.

三月份的销售数字再次显示，美国人的兴趣正转向燃油效率更高的小型车。这对底特律三巨头来说尤其不利。这三大车商主要依赖利润率较高的运动型多用途车(SUV)和其他较大的车型。

The March figures showed again how American tastes are moving toward smaller, more fuel-efficient models. That is an ominous trend especially for Detroit's Big Three, which rely on the higher profit margins of sport-utility vehicles and other big models.

福特管理人士说，福特的卡车销量下降了17%，但中小型轿车和混型车的销量有所增加。他说，现在的外部环境非常艰难，消费者的偏好发生了明显变化。

Ford suffered a 17% drop in truck sales but reported higher sales of small and midsize cars and crossovers. 'This is a very challenging external environment, reflecting a seismic shift in consumer preferences,' said Ford's Mr. Farley.

通用、福特和克莱斯勒的北美业务都出现了亏损。销售的持续下滑或许会打击他们为实现好转而作的努力。这三大车商都期望能同全美汽车工人联合会(United Auto Workers)签署新的劳资合同，以便能够实施裁员并降低新工人的工资水平。

GM, Ford and Chrysler are all losing money in North America. Continued declines for the Big Three could hurt their turnaround efforts. All three are counting on new labor contracts with the United Auto Workers to pare payrolls and lower wages for new hires.

去年夏季被私人资本运营公司Cerberus Capital Management LP收购的克莱斯勒希望通过减少滞销车型及经销商的数量来增加利润。

Chrysler was acquired last summer by private-equity group Cerberus Capital Management LP and is hoping to shore up its bottom line by cutting slow-selling models and dealers from its retail network.

直到不久前，面对底特律三大车商遭遇的困境，丰田还一直处于春风得意的状态。其在美国的销售量一年增长了12%，去年它更是与通用平起平坐，并列为全球头号车商。

Until recently, Toyota was riding high amid Detroit's troubles. U.S. sales grew as much as 12% a year, and last year Toyota virtually tied GM as the world's largest auto maker.

出于政治压力等原因，丰田决定着手扩大在美国的产能，以满足需求增长。现在，丰田在美国有四家工厂，在加拿大有两家，墨西哥有一家，眼下正在密西西比州新建第八家工厂，同时，它还在另一家公司在印第安纳的一家工厂生产汽车。

Partly to defuse political pressures, Toyota decided to feed the growing demand by embarking on a big expansion in U.S. capacity. Toyota now has four U.S. plants, two in Canada and one in Mexico. It's building an eighth North American plant in Mississippi and also makes some cars at another company's plant in Indiana.

丰田创始人家族成员之一、公司名誉董事长丰田章一郎(Shoichiro Toyoda)去年10月访问了这家公司在印第安纳普林斯顿的工厂。据一位知情人士说，丰田章一郎来这里不是为了表扬成绩，而是因为他对公司在该州的大量闲置产能感到担心。

Shoichiro Toyoda, a member of Toyota's founding family and the company's honorary chairman, visited the company's plant in Princeton, Ind., last October, according to a company executive familiar with the visit. 'He didn't come to Indiana to commend our accomplishments; he came because he is concerned about lots of idle capacity we have in Indiana,' the executive said.

负责丰田品牌北美区销售和营销的鲍伯?卡特(Bob Carter)说，鉴于信贷危机和房地产市场下滑引发的动荡超过预期，公司计划下调北美销售目标。

Bob Carter, who heads Toyota-brand sales and marketing in the U.S., said the company plans to revise its forecast for total U.S. auto sales downward in light of greater-than-expected turmoil in the credit and real-estate markets.

上个月，针对标准尺寸Tundra皮卡和Sequoia SUV车型市场需求迅速下滑的局面，丰田开始下调其圣安东尼奥和印第安纳工厂的产量。不过一时还不清楚下调的幅度。

Last month Toyota began tapping the brakes on production of vehicles at its San Antonio and Indiana plants to deal with rapidly cooling demand for full-size Tundra pickup trucks and Sequoia SUVs. The extent of the production cuts was not immediately clear.

圣安东尼奥工厂的Tundra年产能是20万辆。印第安纳工厂是10万辆。后者还在Tundra生产线上装配Sequoia。

The San Antonio plant can produce 200,000 full-size Tundra pickup trucks a year. The company can also produce Tundras in Indiana at a pace of 100,000 vehicles a year. The Indiana plant also produces Sequoias on the same assembly line that produces the Tundra.

丰田管理人士表示，他们正在考虑是否要将Tundra大部分集中到圣安东尼奥工厂生产。他们说，丰田在两家工厂均无裁员计划。

Toyota executives said they are weighing whether to consolidate most of the Tundra production in San Antonio. The executives said Toyota has no plans for layoffs at either factory.

通用、福特和克莱斯勒均预计2008年销售形势严峻并下调了生产计划。其中，通用更是因为主要供应商之一American Axle & Manufacturing Inc.发生罢工而导致卡车产量进一步减少。通用周二表示，二季度没有进一步的减产计划。

GM, Ford and Chrysler have already cut production in expectation of the difficult year in 2008. GM's production of trucks has fallen even further in recent weeks because of a strike at a key supplier, American Axle & Manufacturing Inc. GM said Tuesday it has no plans to cut production in the second quarter beyond the reductions its has already put in place.

此外，本田汽车(Honda Motor Co.)公布上月总销量为138,734辆，下降3.2%，不过轿车销量达到创纪录的83,214辆，其中，紧凑型轿车飞度(Fit)销售强劲和雅阁(Accord)销售平稳对此功不可没。

Meanwhile, Honda Motor Co. reported a 3.2% drop in sales to 138,734, although car sales hit a monthly record of 83,214. Strong sales of the Fit compact and stable sales of the Accord helped Honda.

一些业内人士将2008年新车总销量预测值下调到不足1,550万辆，而两周前，营销公司J.D. Power & Associates将原来预测的1,570万下调了4.8%至1,495万辆，这个数字将是自1994以来的最低水平。2007年美国的汽车总销量是1,610万辆。

Several industry forecasters have lowered their 2008 total new-vehicle sales projections to less than 15.5 million. Two weeks ago, marketing firm J.D. Power & Associates cut its annual forecast by 4.8% to 14.95 million vehicles from 15.7 million -- the lowest sales level since 1994. Auto makers sold 16.1 million vehicles in 2007.

现在，对微型客车、标准皮卡和SUV等滞销车型，即使是力度很大的促销措施，一些消费者也不为所动，似乎在等待更多的甜头。

Some consumers appear to be holding out for even more attractive incentive deals despite an abundance of aggressive incentives on vehicles in slow-selling categories such as minivans, full-size pickup trucks and SUVs.

经营汽车业咨询业务的约翰?凯萨(John Casesa)认为，这反映了人们对就业、收入增长和家庭财务前景的担心。现在美国人对自己的财务前景不是很有信心，因此不愿购买大件商品。

'I think this reflects concern about jobs, incomes and outlook for household financial stability,' said John Casesa, who runs an auto-consulting firm. 'Americans are not confident about their economic future, and so they're reluctant to make big-ticket purchases.'

Norihiko Shirouzu / Mike Spector/ Josée Valcourt

http://chinese.wsj.com/gb/20080402/fea163146.asp