《经济学家》读译参考：值得期待－中国汽车制造业前景看好

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2007:09:06 13:24:13
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

One to watch
值得期待

The worlds big carmakers have unwittingly created a new Chinese rival
世界大型汽车制造商无意间在中国成就了一个新对手

（1）THE new Roewe 750 saloon, which goes on sale in China this month, would appear to be a textbook example of why the worlds big carmakers have nothing to fear so far from their Chinese rivals. Like many Chinese-built cars, it is based on a Western design—in this case the Rover 75, the last model to be introduced by Britains now defunct[1] MG Rover. That hardly inspires confidence. And given the poor reputation of Chinese cars, which tend to be cheap rather than reliable, it is not surprising that the new car has failed to cause much of a stir within the industry.

本月在中国上市的荣威750（Roewe 750）新型轿车充分说明，从目前来看，对于中国竞争者，世界大型汽车制造商还用不着担心。中国生产的多数汽车都参照了西方设计方案，这款车也不例外，它参照的是由现已倒闭的英国MG罗孚公司（MG Rover）推出的最后一款车型——罗孚75（Rover 75）。这对中国人的自信很难有所促进。况且中国汽车由于一向只追求廉价不注重可靠而声名扫地，所以这款新车未能在业内引起太多轰动，也就不奇怪了。

But the Roewe, launched by SAIC—a state-owned carmaker that has joint ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen to make Chinese versions of their cars—is not the cheap knock-off[2] its name implies. （2）Unlike other Chinese firms, SAIC has not “borrowed” technology, components or designs for its new car. It has bought them or developed them in-house.

不过，荣威并非像其品名暗示的那样纯属廉价的仿制品（Roewe与Rover的拼写和发音相似）。推出这款车的是中国国有汽车制造商上汽公司（SAIC），该公司与通用汽车公司（General Motors，GM）和大众汽车公司（Volkswagen，VW）合资生产中国版的通用和大众汽车。与中国其他公司不同，上汽公司开发新款车型所用的技术、零部件和设计方案，不是“借鉴”来的，而是买来的或者是自主研发出来的。

The original Rover 75 design has been substantially improved by engineers and designers in Britain and Italy and at Ssangyong, SAIC s South Korean subsidiary. And MG Rovers ultimate collapse notwithstanding, the 75 was actually a good car. （3）Developed by BMW, which owned MG Rover for a while, and with an excellent engine designed by Honda, the 75 has a fine pedigree[3]. SAIC has spent two years changing the styling, upgrading the chassis and designing a new interior.

在英国和意大利，还有在上汽旗下的韩国双龙（Ssangyong）汽车公司，工程技术和设计人员都曾对原款罗孚75进行过充分改进。尽管罗孚公司最终倒闭，但Rover 75的确是一款好车。罗孚75系出名门，其开发者是由曾短期拥有罗孚的宝马公司，其发动机则是本田的杰作。上汽公司耗时两年，对原车式样和底盘进行了改造和升级，并设计了新的内饰。

To manage its independent production division, SAIC hired Phil Murtaugh, who previously ran GMs Chinese operation. He has been able to call upon the 5,000 engineering staff who work for subsidiary suppliers to the GM and VW joint ventures. The joint ventures also mean that SAIC already has a strong relationship with car dealers throughout China.

为了搞好生产管理，上汽公司将通用（中国）前总裁菲尔•.墨菲（Phil Murtaugh）招至麾下，而墨菲又设法从通用和大众合资公司配件供应商招募来5000名工程技术人员。与通用和大众的合资也意味着上汽公司已经与全中国的汽车经销商建立了密切联系。

SAIC has the capacity to manufacture 50,000 cars a year, but there are no initial production goals, sales targets or export plans. The emphasis is on getting the product right and making sure local customers are satisfied—a concept unknown to domestic rivals. The quality and safety expectations of Chinese consumers are evolving quickly, Mr Murtaugh believes. （4）And a strategy to maximise sales now, based on very low prices, would be counterproductive[4] in the long term. SAIC s actions in the coming year will determine its reputation for years to come, he thinks.

上汽公司每年可生产5万辆汽车，但它并未制定初始阶段的生产和销售目标以及出口计划。其当前的重点是做好产品并确保本地消费者满意——国内竞争对手尚不知晓这一概念。墨菲认为，中国消费者对质量和安全的期望值正在迅速提高。现行基于超低价的销售最大化战略将无益于实现长远利益。他认为，来年上汽公司的举措对其未来几年的声誉将产生决定性的影响。

SAIC wants to compete with the big foreign firms in the mid- to high-end market, selling to Chinese urban professionals between the ages of 26 and 45. This is a group where prosperity seems to be rapidly expanding, so there is a chance to become its preferred carmaker. SAIC can afford its patient entry strategy because despite being a new company in many ways, it has no shortage of resources. Being state-owned, it can theoretically call on the government if it needs cash—which it does not. Its share of the joint ventures with GM and VW was enough to place it in the Fortune 500 back in 2004.

上汽公司将目标客户锁定为26岁至45岁之间的中国城市职业人群，从而在中高端市场与外国大公司进行博弈。这类人群正蓬勃发展，上汽公司是有可能成为他们所垂青的汽车制造商的。上汽的战略就是“耐心等待”，而他们也等得起。这是因为，尽管在很多方面它只能算是一个新的公司，但资源并不缺乏。作为一家国有企业，它如果需要资金，按理可以求诸政府。不过目前它并没有这么做。放在2004年，仅凭在与通用和大众的合资中所占份额，它就足以进入《财富》500强。

Assuming the launch of the Roewe 750 goes well, SAIC has plans of staggering, possibly foolhardy[5], ambition. By 2010—not a long way off in the car business—it intends to churn out 30 different models on five different platforms, a number that would rival established competitors around the world. This will not be easy. （5）As Mr Murtaugh freely admits, engineering talent is thin on the ground in China, retaining staff is challenging and the complexity of launching so many products in such a short time would stretch even the worlds best carmakers.

假如荣威750上市一切顺利，上汽公司便要开始实施惊人的宏图大计，不过可能并非明智之举。它计划到2010年——这一过程在汽车业算不上漫长——推出基于5个不同平台30款不同的车型。这个数字可以与全球任何一家老牌竞争者相匹敌。这又谈何容易？墨菲坦陈，中国现有工程技术力量仍较薄弱，挽留人才难度也相当大，而且在如此短暂的时间内开发出如此多的产品，内中的复杂性，就连全球最杰出的汽车制造商也会招架不住。

But doubt is nothing new to the Chinese car industry. Back in 1994 the Chinese government announced a plan to develop a stand-alone industry to general disbelief. It is surprising how far Chinas carmakers have since come. Chinese cars still have a poor reputation, but the Roewe could prove to be the first car to buck[6] the trend.

不过，中国汽车工业遭受质疑一直不是什么新鲜事。中国政府曾在1994年宣布了一项汽车产业发展计划，结果引来一片怀疑之声。中国汽车制造商如今能发展成这样让人感到意外。中国汽车仍将背负坏名声，然而荣威却有可能成为第一款逆潮而上的车型。

[NOTES]

1. defunct adj. (fml or joc 文或谑) (a) (of people) dead （指人）死的. (b) (of practices, laws, etc) no longer in use （指做法、法律等）不再使用的, 过时的. (c) no longer effective or treated with respect 失效的. 不再受尊重的: a defunct organization 瘫痪的组织.

2. knock-off n. [C] AmE informal a cheap copy of something expensive

3. pedigree n. 1 (a) [C] line of ancestors 世系: proud of his long pedigree 为其源远流长的世系而骄傲. (b) [U] quality of having this 门第. 出身: people without pedigree 非名门出身的人. 2 [C] (a) table or list of a persons ancestors. family tree 家谱. 系谱. (b) official record of the animals from which an animal has been bred 动物纯种系谱.

4. counterproductive adj. achieving the opposite result to the one that you want// --Sending young offenders to prison can be counterproductive.//

5. foolhardy adj. (-ier, -iest) foolishly bold or rash. reckless 胆大妄为的. 有勇无谋的. 鲁莽的: It was foolhardy (of him) to go swimming alone. （他）独自一人去游泳真是鲁莽.

6. buck v. [Tn] (US infml 口) resist or oppose (sb/sth) 反抗、反对（某人[某事]）: Dont try to buck the system. 不要反对这个制度.