Toyota, In Lapse, Sputters In China
反应迟缓令丰田在华业绩受挫
Toyota Motor Corp. has hit a pothole in China, where its failure to anticipate booming demand for small cars is depressing sales as rivals like General Motors Corp. report sharp gains.
丰田汽车(Motor Corp.)在中国遭遇挫折。由于未能预见到小型车需求旺盛，其销售业绩受到抑制，而通用汽车(General Motors)等竞争对手同期销量却大幅上升。
The sales slump is a blow to the world's biggest auto maker because China is the only major global auto market still growing. The problem adds to weakness in other markets for Toyota, which is expected Friday to report big losses for the year through March 31.
销售下滑对这家世界最大的汽车制造商来说是一个打击，因为中国是全球目前唯一一个还在增长的主要汽车市场。在中国市场遭遇的问题加剧了丰田在其他市场的疲软。预计该公司周五将公布，在截至3月31日的财政年度发生重大亏损。
Toyota's China sales in the first quarter of 2009 fell 17% from a year earlier to 125,743 vehicles, even as the total Chinese market, fueled by rising demand for small cars, grew 4% to 2.7 million vehicles. GM's sales gained 17% to 363,317 vehicles, including commercial microminivans made by SAIC GM Wuling Automobile Co., in which GM holds a minority stake. Other big producers, like Japanese rival Nissan Motor Co., also reported strong first-quarter sales. GM on Tuesday said its China sales rose an even-faster 50% in April. Toyota is expected to report April sales for China early next week.
丰田今年一季度在中国市场的销售量较上年同期下降17%，为125,743辆，而同期中国汽车市场总销量在小型车需求上升的带动下增长4%，达到270万辆。该季度通用汽车(GM)销量增长17%至363,317辆，其中包括上汽通用五菱(SAIC GM Wuling Automobile Co.)生产的微型商用车。通用在该公司持有少数股份。其他大型汽车制造商同样也宣布一季度在华销售业绩强劲，比如日本的日产汽车(Nissan)。通用汽车周二称，其4月份在华销量升幅高达50%。预计丰田将于下周初公布4月份在华销量。
The root of Toyota's China problem is a slow response to increasing demand outside China's biggest cities for small, affordable cars -- an unexpected lapse by a company known for its fuel-efficient vehicles and generally seen as adept at grasping changes in customer desires.
丰田在中国的根本问题是，对中小城市小型经济型轿车需求上升的形势反应迟缓。对于丰田这样一家以节能型车而闻名、而且通常被认为很善于抓住客户需求变化的企业来说，这实在是一个意想不到的失误。
Chinese consumers have been snapping up such cars, especially after the government in January announced stimulus measures that cut sales taxes on cars with engines of 1.6 liters or smaller and offered rebates for rural residents buying new cars. Meanwhile, the sweet spot of China's market has been shifting inland, a trend that accelerated last year when coastal manufacturing hubs were hit by slumping demand for Chinese exports.
中国消费者一直在踊跃购买这样的车，特别是今年1月份之后，政府当时宣布了刺激汽车消费政策，对发动机排量在1.6升以下的车下调购置税，并对农村居民购买新车提供折扣。与此同时，中国市场的“甜蜜点”一直在向内陆地区转移，去年，随着沿海制造业基地受到中国出口商品需求下滑的冲击，这一趋势开始加速。
Nissan, whose first-quarter China sales rose 29%, and GM have been opening showrooms in smaller cities and rural areas, rolling out no-frills small cars for farmers and other less-well-off residents.
日产汽车一季度在中国的销量上升29%。该公司及通用一直在中国中小城市和农村地区设立车辆销售展示厅，面向农村人口和其他不太富裕的居民推出基本配置的小型车。
Toyota's lineup in China is short on affordable, fuel-efficient small cars. The company 'found themselves without appropriate products and enough retail outlets in [inland] markets to meet the shift,' says Yale Zhang, a Shanghai-based analyst at U.S. consulting firm CSM Worldwide. Toyota's 'product mix is skewed and more focused on larger cars,' like its Camry and Crown models, he says. 'They're paying a high price for that.'
而丰田在中国推出的车型中缺乏既经济又节油的小型车。美国咨询公司CSM Worldwide驻上海分析师张豫(Yale Zhang)说，丰田发现，他们没有适当的产品，在内地城市也没有足够的销售点以适应这一市场变化。他说，丰田的产品组合不够均衡，更侧重于大排量车，比如凯美瑞和皇冠。张豫说，他们为这一点付出了高昂的代价。
Toyota's stumble in China follows a banner 2008, when its sales rose 17% to 585,000 vehicles.
在中国遭遇此番挫折之前，丰田2008年取得了辉煌业绩，销量上升了17% ，达到585,000辆。
'Demand for small cars is surging. But in the longer run, we believe China's auto market will see continued demand growth for all kinds of cars, from SUVs to family cars to luxury models,' says Hitoshi Yokoyama, a Toyota spokesman. 'We intend to continue with our full product-lineup strategy.'
丰田发言人Hitoshi Yokoyama说，小型车需求在迅速上升。但从较长时期来看，我们相信在中国汽车市场上，各种类型的车都将继续实现需求增长，不论是运动型多用途车、家用轿车，还是豪华车。我们打算继续执行我们的全系列产品战略。
To prevent further declines, Toyota is scrambling to boost output of 1.6-liter engines for the Corolla lineup by about 65% at its plant in Tianjin, China, people familiar with the matter say. But they say it may take three months or more to achieve the target.
据知情人士说，为防止销量出现进一步下滑，丰田急忙将在天津工厂花冠系列1.6升发动机的产量目标提高大约65%。但他们表示，可能需要3个月甚至更长时间才能实现生产目标。
Toyota does offer a small car in China, the Yaris subcompact. But the model has sold slowly since its introduction last May because the car is seen as being too expensive for its size. A base version of GM's subcompact Chevrolet Aveo costs about $10,500, while the Yaris starts around $13,500.
丰田在中国其实有一款小型车：雅力士微型轿车。但从去年5月登陆中国市场以来，这款车一直销售缓慢，原因是其售价相对其车型大小来说显得太昂贵。同为微型轿车的通用雪佛兰乐骋基本款售价大约10,500美元，而雅力士起价在13,500美元左右。
Toyota also has a commercialmicrominivan affiliate. But it only started selling the vehicles in 2007 and sold just 1,400 or so in the first quarter of this year. GM's Wuling affiliate sold 230,000 microminivans in the quarter, nearly two-thirds of the company's total sales in China.
丰田同样也有微型商用车。但该公司从2007年才开始销售这类车，今一季度只售出1,400辆左右。而该季度通用五菱的微型车销量为23万辆，占该公司在华总销量近三分之二。
Only about 25% of all passenger cars Toyota sold in the first quarter in China came equipped with engines of 1.6 liters or smaller, the cars that benefit from the tax cut. Nearly 60% of GM's passenger cars fit that bill, and including the Wuling microminivans, GM's figure was 80%. For Nissan, such vehicles accounted for 64% of first-quarter sales.
今年一季度，丰田在中国售出的全部乘用车中，只有大约25%的车发动机排量在享受购置税优惠所要求的1.6升或1.6升以下。而通用有接近60%的乘用车满足税收优惠条件，如果把通用五菱微型车也计算在内，则这个比例是80%。日产汽车一季度的这个数字是64%。
'People are coming in to take advantage of the government incentives to buy 1.6-liter cars, but we don't have much to offer,' says a Toyota dealer in the southern city of Shenzhen. 'The problem is Toyota isn't ramping up production of 1.6-liter engines fast enough.'
位于广东深圳的一家丰田经销商说，消费者想来买1.6升的车型，以便能享受政府的优惠政策，但我们没有多少可以提供给他们的。问题在于，丰田没能足够迅速地开始增产1.6升发动机车型。
Toyota aims to increase the share of Corollas, its most popular model in China, that have 1.6-liter engines to 50% from about 30%, Toyota executives say. They hope to reach that target by summer. Most Corollas now are built with 1.8-liter engines. But even with the change, the portion of tax-cut-eligible Toyotas would only rise to about 30% from 25%. The Corolla's first-quarter sales fell 10% from a year earlier.
丰田汽车管理人士透露，公司计划将花冠车中1.6以下排量的比例从30%左右提高到50%。花冠是该公司在中国最畅销的车型。他们希望这个夏天能达到这一目标。目前大部分花冠车都是1.8升排量。但即使作出上述调整后，符合优惠条件的丰田车比例也只是从25%上升到30%。花冠一季度的销量较上年同期下降了 10%。
The Toyota executives admit they were caught off guard. 'We didn't expect demand for small cars and the overall market to recover so fast,' one says.
丰田管理人士承认，他们的确是疏忽了。一位管理人士称，我们没有预见到小型车需求和总体市场复苏得这么快。
Norihiko Shirouzu
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