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
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