China's Influence On Display At Car Show
全球汽车业天平正倒向中国
The Shanghai auto show that opened Monday is demonstrating how the balance of importance in the global car industry is tipping decisively toward China.
周一开幕的上海汽车展充分显示出，全球汽车业的天平正在彻底地倒向中国。
China is the only major auto market still growing despite the global economic slowdown, and in the past few months the number of sales in the country has outstripped sales in the U.S.
中国是唯一在全球经济放缓的形势下仍实现增长的主要汽车市场，而且过去几个月中的汽车销量已经超过了美国。
That's prompting auto makers including Daimler AG, General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and Porsche Automobil Holding AG to think of China not as an emerging market but, increasingly, the industry's central battleground.
这促使戴姆勒(Daimler AG)、通用汽车(General Motors Corp.)、丰田汽车(Toyota Motor Corp.)和保时捷(Porsche Automobil Holding AG)等汽车制造商不再将中国作为新兴市场看待，而越来越视其为汽车业的主战场。
'The center of gravity is moving eastward,' Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Daimler, the parent of Mercedes-Benz, told a group of reporters at the auto show.
戴姆勒的董事长蔡澈(Dieter Zetsche)在车展上对记者说，重心正在东移。戴姆勒是梅赛德斯-奔驰(Mercedes-Benz)的母公司。
China's central government is pouring money into expanding the country's network of highways and roads as part of a major economic stimulus package. That spending could sustain auto sales growth for years to come. Chinese car makers, flush with cash, are keen to buy foreign brands and technologies. Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd., for instance, is looking to buy Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo.
作为主要经济刺激计划的一部分，中国中央政府正在投入资金扩大国内的公路网络。这些支出可以维持汽车销售继续保持几年的增长。现金充裕的中国汽车制造商热衷于购买外国的品牌和技术。比如，吉利汽车(Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.)就正在考虑购买福特汽车 Ford Motor Co.旗下的沃尔沃(Volvo)。
The buzz and excitement surrounding this year's Shanghai auto show contrasts with the subdued tone of major car shows in North America and Europe. Nissan Motor Co., for example, skipped this year's Detroit show and plans to be absent from Frankfurt's but is making a splash in Shanghai.
今年上海车展的喧嚣与兴奋同欧美大型车展上的压抑气氛形成了鲜明对比。比如，日产汽车(Nissan Motor Co.)就没有参加今年的底特律车展，并计划缺席法兰克福车展，但却大张旗鼓地参加了上海车展。
Atsuyoshi Hyogo, head of Honda Motor Co.'s China operations, said auto makers at the Shanghai show are witnessing 'a major shift in the battleground within the global automobile market from the U.S. to China.'
本田汽车(Honda Motor Co.)中国业务部门负责人兵后笃芳(Atsuyoshi Hyogo)说，在上海车展上，汽车制造商看到“全球汽车市场的主战场正在从美国转到了中国。”
Nick Reilly, head of GM's Asia-Pacific operations, said China is one of the 'centerpieces' for the Detroit auto maker's future. While GM is racing to avoid bankruptcy in the U.S., its business in China is profitable and has remained largely unaffected by the global slowdown, Mr. Reilly said.
通用汽车亚太业务负责人雷利(Nick Reilly)说，中国是通用未来的业务中心之一。他说，虽然通用汽车在美国正尽力避免破产的命运，但其在华业务仍是盈利的，并且基本上没有受到全球经济放缓的影响。
In many ways, GM's eventual success in revitalizing itself depends on China, he said. For the company to remain a leader in the global industry, GM needs to be an 'industry leader' in China, he said.
雷利说，从许多方面看，通用汽车最终能否成功实现复苏还要取决于中国。他说，通用汽车要保住全球汽车业领导者的地位，就首先需要成为中国的行业领导者。
Several car makers are unveiling new models in Shanghai. Daimler is showcasing a new version of its S-class S65 AMG, a luxury car with a 612-horsepower engine. The car can go from 0 to 100 kilometers (62 miles) an hour in 4.4 seconds. Sports-car manufacturer Porsche on Sunday debuted its four-door Panamera.
一些汽车制造商在上海车展上推出了新车型。戴姆勒展示了奔驰S级S65 AMG新车型，这款豪华轿车装有612马力的发动机。由静止加速到100公里/小时（62英里/小时）仅需4.4秒。跑车制造商保时捷在周日首次推出了四门的Panamera车型。
BMW AG, another German producer, is also having a world premier of a new model of its 7-Series sedan in Shanghai. The BMW 760 Li sedan has a 6-liter, 12-cylinder engine. Ian Robertson, executive board member of BMW, said China will likely be the vehicle's biggest market.
另一家德国生产商宝马汽车(BMW AG)也在上海车展上推出了世界顶级水平的新款7系列轿车。BMW 760 Li轿车装有6升12缸发动机。宝马执行董事罗伯逊(Ian Robertson)说，中国可能成为这款汽车最大的市场。
Toyota, meanwhile, has brought to Shanghai a 'concept' plug-in electric hybrid car, which the company said it might sell in China on a trial basis in the near future.
与此同时，丰田汽车在上海车展上推出了充电式混合动力概念车。丰田汽车说，不久后可能在中国试销这款汽车。
GM executives said the company plans to launch its futuristic hybrid, the Chevy Volt, in China by 2011, shortly after the car goes on sale in the U.S. in late 2010. They said the American auto maker expects China's overall auto market to continue to grow 7% to 8% on average every year over the next five to six years. That's slower than the double-digit growth rates of the Chinese market over the past decade, but makes China one of the rare bright spots looking ahead.
通用汽车高管说，公司计划在2010年年底向美国市场推出其混合动力车雪佛兰Volt后，于2011年在中国推出这款轿车。他们说，通用预计，中国汽车市场在未来五到六年内仍将继续保持7%至8%的平均年增长率。这低于过去十年里中国市场两位数的年增长率，但也足以使中国市场成为未来一个难得的亮点。
Among other signs pointing to China as a main engine of growth for the global industry, Ford has decided to move its Asian-Pacific headquarters to China from Thailand later this year.
此外，还有其他迹象显示中国被视为全球工业增长的一个主要引擎。其中之一就是福特汽车决定今年晚些时候把亚太区总部从泰国迁到中国。
To be sure, more cars are selling in China than the U.S. in part because of a severe auto sales downturn in America since last year. Chinese auto makers also remain largely uncompetitive in the world's advanced economies because of their limited, albeit improving, technological and manufacturing capabilities. The country also suffers from a reputation of being a copycat, with many of its cars closely resembling those from more established foreign rivals.
诚然，造成中国汽车销量超过美国的一个原因是，自去年以来美国汽车销售一直处于严重低迷状态。此外，由于技术和制造能力有限（尽管在不断提高），中国汽车厂商在世界发达经济体中仍没有太大的竞争力。中国还背着模仿抄袭的恶名──很多中国汽车都与老牌外国竞争对手的非常相似。
Honda's Mr. Hyogo noted that Chinese makers will have to stop cutting corners 'in areas such as the environment, safety and intellectual property' to create an industry that deserves to be called a leading global player.
本田汽车的兵后笃芳指出，中国企业必须停止在环境、安全和知识产权等方面的违规行为，以创建一个称得起全球领先的行业。
'The Chinese government must recognize that China is becoming a major global market and lead the country to become an automobile superpower in the truest sense,' Mr. Hyogo said.
他说，中国政府必须认识到中国正在成为一个重要的全球市场，并带领中国成为真正意义上的超级汽车大国。
Meantime, car sales in China are showing surprising resilience. Chinese consumers are proving particularly responsive to government stimulus initiatives to boost spending, such as tax cuts and other subsidies on auto purchases. In March, vehicle sales climbed 5% to a record 1.11 million. In contrast, March car sales fell 30% in the U.S. and 32% in Japan.
与此同时，中国汽车销量显露出出人意料的恢复能力。事实证明，中国消费者尤其响应政府的刺激支出措施，比如减税和其他购车补贴。3月份，汽车销量增长5%，至创纪录的111万辆。相比之下，3月份美国和日本的汽车销量分别下滑30%和32%。
GM's Mr. Reilly said the company is aiming to double its annual sales in China to more than two million over the next five years. The company sold 1,094,561 vehicles in China last year, including sales of micro minivans made with Wuling Automobile Co., one of GM's Chinese partners.
通用汽车的雷利说，公司的目标是在未来5年中，将在华汽车年销量增加一倍，至每年200万辆以上。通用汽车去年在华汽车销量为1,094,561辆，其中包括与中国合作伙伴之一的五菱汽车合资生产的微型客车。
To meet that sales target, GM may soon need to build another assembly plant, company executives said. GM operates five plants in China with its joint-venture partner SAIC Motor Corp. GM also has two additional plants run by a separate, three-way venture it jointly operates with SAIC and Wuling.
通用汽车管理人士说，为实现这一销售目标，公司可能很快需要再建造一个组装厂。在中国，通用汽车与合资伙伴上海汽车集团股份有限公司运营着5个工厂，此外，它还与上汽和五菱三方合资运营着两个工厂。
China's auto industry may soon emerge as a significant export base for foreign car makers such GM and Nissan.
中国的汽车业可能很快会成为通用汽车和日产汽车等外国汽车厂商的重要出口基地。
Mr. Reilly said he believes GM's plants in China, while they are committed to meeting demand within China, also 'will probably generate fairly significant exports,' possibly in the next two to three years, if the global auto markets recover. He noted that the quality of cars GM produces with its joint-venture partners in China is roughly on par with that of vehicles it makes in North America and Europe.
雷利说，他认为通用汽车中国工厂在致力于满足中国国内需求的同时，如果全球汽车市场复苏的话，它还可能会产生相当大的出口，或许就在未来的两、三年。他说，通用汽车在华合资企业生产的汽车质量与在北美和欧洲生产的汽车质量大体一致。
Asked why Daimler is skipping the Tokyo auto show later this year but is staging a big presence in Shanghai, Mr. Zetsche pointed to the fact that sales of Mercedes-Benz cars in China have recently surpassed those in Japan.
当被问及戴姆勒为何不参加今年晚些时候的东京车展，却在上海车展上大举亮相时，蔡澈指出这样一个事实：奔驰汽车在华销量最近超过了日本销量。
'Here, we are likely to leverage the opportunities, which are building,' the German executive said.
这位德国高管说，在中国，我们可能会利用这里越来越多的机会。
Norihiko Shirouzu / Gordon Fairclough
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