福特(Ford)进军中国汽车市场的时间比通用汽车(General Motors)等竞争对手更晚。现在它正迎头赶上。摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)分析师乔纳斯(Adam Jonas)说，这家美国公司是今年在华增长最快的汽车厂商。今年1月至8月，福特在华乘用车销量同比增长73%，增速为整体市场的五倍。按照目前的趋势，福特今年在华汽车销量可能超过60万辆。
Ford got to the China party later than rivals like General Motors. Now it's making up for it.
这一成功在很大程度上要归功于协调一致的策略调整。在多年保持低调之后，福特自2011年以来在中国推出了七款新车。该公司计划2015年之前再推出八款车，总车型达到19款。
The U.S. company is the fastest growing carmaker in China this year, says Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas. Between January and August, it sold 73% more passenger cars in China than the year before, growing five times as fast as the broader market. On current trends, Ford could sell more than 600,000 cars in China this year.
在某种程度上，福特是在学习其规模更大的底特律老乡的成功经验。据研究机构LMC Automotive的数据，通用汽车是中国销量第三的乘用车厂商，目前在中国市场占据10%的份额。通用汽车品牌在中国遍地开花的原因是，该公司力推销量超高的小型或中型汽车。LMC的数据显示，今年中国销量前10的车型中有四款为通用汽车旗下品牌，全都是微型或小型汽车。
Much of the success is thanks to a concerted change in strategy. After years of lying low, Ford has launched seven new cars in China since 2011. It plans to launch eight more by 2015, bringing its total to 19.
福特也推出了福克斯(Focus)和蒙迪欧(Mondeo)等中型车。福克斯已经跻身中国前15大汽车。截至8月份，福特的市场份额已经从去年的2.5%增长到3.8%。如果该公司集中关注这类高销量的车型而非利润率更高的豪华汽车，其品牌应当会进一步壮大。
In a way, Ford is learning from the success of its bigger Detroit neighbor. GM, China's third-largest passenger-car maker by sales, now commands a tenth of this market, according to research firm LMC Automotive. Its brand became ubiquitous in China because the company pushed small or midsized cars that sell in high volumes. Four of the top 10 selling cars in China this year belong to GM, all of them compacts or smaller, according to LMC.
当然，福特面临的一个挑战是其经销商网络。2012年底，通用汽车在中国有3,800家经销商，这意味着它有一支致力于推广其品牌的队伍。福特乘用车经销商不到500家，其目标是2015年之前达到700家。福特说，高利润目前吸引了经销商加入。然而说服更多的经销商签约新品牌可能不是那么容易。
Ford, too, is introducing midsized cars like the Focus and Mondeo. The Focus already ranks among the top 15 cars in the country. Ford's market share has improved to 3.8% as of August from 2.5% last year. Its brand should get bigger if it concentrates on such high-volume models instead of, say, higher-margin luxury cars.
不过这家经销商可以通过更高的提成吸引经销商，让它们更好地进行营销。咨询公司AlixPartners的罗曼(Ivo Naumann)说，或者它也可以自行加大营销开支。
To be sure, one challenge for Ford will be its dealer network. GM boasted 3,800 dealers across China at the end of 2012, meaning it has a small army pushing its brand. Ford, which has fewer than 500 dealers for its passenger cars, is aiming for 700 by 2015. Ford says high profits are drawing in dealers for now. Yet persuading more to sign on to a new brand may not be so easy.
通用汽车的情况表明，福特可能还有很大的上升空间。通用汽车在华业务2012年实现利润15亿美元，在其整体 利润中占比30%。乔纳斯说，福特2012年在华利润约3亿美元，占其总利润的5.6%，但到2016年这个数字可能增加到18亿美元，占福特全球总利润的五分之一。
Still, the carmaker could entice dealers with a bigger cut so they can market the cars better. Or it could spend more on marketing itself, says Ivo Naumann at AlixPartners, a consultancy.
福特在中国实现了良好的开端。虽然70%的增幅不会永远持续，但该公司可以利用其所取得的进展。它仍然可以成为世界最大汽车市场的"酷孩子"之一。
GM suggests the upside for Ford could be significant. GM earned $1.5 billion, or nearly 30% of its net income, from its Chinese ventures in 2012. Ford earned roughly $300 million, or 5.6% of its bottom-line, from China in 2012 -- though this could increase to $1.8 billion, or a fifth of Ford's global earnings, by 2016, Mr. Jonas says.
Abhekk Bhattacharya
- learning [´lə:niŋ]
n.学习；学问；知识 (初中英语单词) - detroit [də´trɔit] n.底特律 (初中英语单词)
- research [ri´sə:tʃ] n.&vi.调查；探究；研究 (初中英语单词)
- luxury [´lʌkʃəri] n.奢侈(品)；享受 (初中英语单词)
- challenge [´tʃælindʒ] n.&vt.向....挑战；怀疑 (初中英语单词)
- dealer [´di:lə] n.商人 (初中英语单词)
- income [´inkʌm] n.收入，所得 (初中英语单词)
- launch [lɔ:ntʃ] vt.发动 n.发射；汽艇 (高中英语单词)
- significant [sig´nifikənt] a.重要的；意义重大的 (高中英语单词)
- billion [´biljən] num.万亿 (高中英语单词)
- roughly [´rʌfli] ad.粗糙地；毛糙地 (高中英语单词)
- network [´netwə:k] n.网状物 vt.联播 (英语四级单词)
- drawing [´drɔ:iŋ] n.画图；制图；图样 (英语四级单词)
- entice [in´tais] vt.诱惑；怂恿 (英语四级单词)
- upside [´ʌpsaid] n.上边，上段，上部 (英语四级单词)
- august [ɔ:´gʌst] a.尊严的；威严的 (英语六级单词)
- strategy [´strætidʒi] n.兵法；战略 (英语六级单词)
- earnings [´ə:niŋz] n.收益；报酬；获得 (英语六级单词)
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