Germany's
luxury car makers reported further sales increases in March, fueled by strong demand in China and an accelerating
recovery in the U.S. even as the European market continues to shrink.
管欧洲市场继续萎缩,但在中国的强劲需求和美国加速复苏的推动下,德国豪华车生产商3月份的销量进一步增长。
BMW AG, the world's largest
luxury auto maker by unit sales, Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz brand and Volkswagen AG's Audi brand have all reported sales increases in key foreign markets as they
expand deeper in China, where disposable incomes continue to rise, and increased production in the U.S., where sales of cars and light trucks rose nearly 13% in March from a year ago.
按销量计,宝马是全球最大的豪车生产商。宝马(BMW AG)、戴姆勒集团(Daimler AG)旗下的梅塞德斯-奔驰(Mercedes-Benz)品牌和大众集团(Volkswagen AG)旗下的奥迪(Audi)品牌都已报告关键外国市场销量上升。这种增长是各家公司在中国进一步扩张、并在美国提高产量的过程中实现的。中国消费者的可支配收入仍在增加,而3月份美国市场小汽车和轻型卡车的销量同比增长接近13%。
'We have had an
outstanding first quarter and the best ever in the company's history,' BMW sales chief Ian Robertson said at the New York International Auto Show, according to prepared remarks.
书面讲稿显示,宝马销售负责人罗伯森(Ian Robertson)在纽约国际汽车展(New York International Auto Show)上说,一季度业绩非常突出,创下了公司历史上的最佳纪录。
'We have seen over 16% growth in the U.S. this quarter and we expect further momentum with the new BMW 3 Series sedan on the market, as well as the
introduction of the BMW X1 [sports
utility vehicle] to the U.S. in September this year,' Mr. Robertson said.
罗伯森说,这个季度我们在美国实现了16%以上的增长,而随着新的宝马3系轿车上市,以及随着宝马X1(SUV)于今年9月份向美国市场推出,预计还会更上一层楼。
Daimler on Wednesday reiterated its
earnings targets for 2012 as it reported a 12% increase in Mercedes cars during the first quarter and said it still expects
vehicle sales to rise significantly this year. The company is also the world's biggest maker of trucks and reported a 20% rise in truck sales in the first quarter.
戴姆勒公司周三公布的2012年盈利目标和以前公布的一致,同时报告一季度奔驰车销量增长12%。该公司表示它仍旧预计今年销量会有大幅增长。戴姆勒也是世界上最大的卡车生产商,报告显示卡车销量在一季度增长了20%。
Further evidence of the importance of the booming Chinese market to car makers came from Audi, which expects its sales to continue their double-digit gains in coming months in China, following a 37% rise in March. In the first quarter of the year, Audi's China sales were up 40% to 90,063 vehicles, and it expects the
introduction of its A6L model, to be presented at the Beijing auto show starting April 23, to further drive sales.
奥迪进一步证明了中国市场的繁荣对于汽车生产商的重要性。它预计,继3月份增长37%之后,未来几个月在中国市场的销量会继续呈现两位数的增长。今年一季度,奥迪在华销量增长40%至90,063辆。据预计,A6L车型的推出将会继续推动销售。这款车将在4月23日开幕的北京车展上展出。
BMW said it sold more than 75,000 vehicles in China in the first quarter, around 30% more than the 58,506 sold a year ago.
宝马表示,一季度在华销量超过75,000辆,较去年同期的58,506辆上涨了约30%。
March U.S. auto gains provided a further boost to European
luxury car makers, offsetting fears they have become too reliant on China even though the
recovery in the American market is largely being
driven by demand for small and fuel-efficient cars due to
stubbornly high gas prices.
3月份在美国市场的增长给欧洲豪华车生产商带来进一步提振,部分消除了外界对于各厂商正变得过度依赖中国市场的担忧。不过由于汽油价格居高不下,美国市场的复苏主要是由小排量省油车的需求带动的。
BMW's March U.S. sales were up 13% to 26,382 vehicles, Mercedes' sales rose 13% to 25,508 and Audi's sales rose 18% to a record 11,585 vehicles.
3月份宝马在美国市场的销量增长13%至26,382辆,奔驰增长13%至25,508辆,奥迪增长18%至创纪录的11,585辆。
In contrast, European car makers more reliant on
domestic markets are braced for more bad news as consumers put off purchases amid the
prevailing economic
uncertainty in the region.
相比之下,更依赖国内市场的欧洲汽车制造商则做好了面对更多坏消息的准备。由于欧洲的经济形势充满不确定因素,消费者一般都推迟了购车计划。
'For 2012, expectations for the market in Europe are not encouraging,' said Sergio Marchionne, chief
executive of Italian auto maker Fiat SpA, F -1.07% at the company's
annual shareholder meeting.
意大利汽车制造商菲亚特公司(Fiat SpA)首席执行长马尔乔内(Sergio Marchionne)在公司年度股东大会上说,对欧洲市场2012年的预期并不乐观。
Europe-wide car
registration data are due to be released April 17 but figures this week showed the market in France, Europe's biggest market after Germany,
contracted 24% and the Italian market
shrank 27% last month. Registrations of new cars made by France's PSA Peugeot Citroën SA, Renault SA and Fiat fell by 30% or more in their home markets. Fiat described its sales
performance as the worst for the month of March in 32 years.
欧洲整体车辆登记数据将于4月17日发布,但本周数据显示,仅次于德国的欧洲第二大汽车市场法国上个月收缩了24%,意大利市场收缩了27%。法国标致雪铁龙集团(PSA Peugeot-Citroen)、雷诺公司(Renault SA)和菲亚特生产的新车在本土市场上的登记数量均减少了30%或更多。菲亚特表示,与以往32年的同一时期相比,公司今年3月的销售业绩是最差的。
Demand in Europe is likely to decline for a fifth year in a row to around 13 million vehicles from 13.6 million vehicles last year, Mr. Marchionne said.
马尔乔内说,欧洲的汽车需求可能会连续第五年下滑,从去年的1,360万辆降至1,300万辆左右。
But Mr. Marchionne was upbeat about the prospects for the U.S. market, where sales of vehicles made by its 58.5%-owned unit Chrysler Group LLC have surged, rising 34% in March from a year ago.
但马尔乔内对美国市场的前景持乐观态度。克莱斯勒集团有限责任公司(Chrysler Group LLC)生产的汽车在美国市场销量激增,3月份的销量同比上涨了34%。菲亚特持有克莱斯勒58.5%的股份。
Daimler said it expects the market outside Europe to continue booming over the next eight years, with the global market growing by 40 million vehicles a year until 2020 and India emerging as the world's third-largest autos market by the same year, behind China and the U.S.
戴姆勒说,预计未来八年除欧洲以外的全球汽车市场将持续蓬勃发展,全球汽车销量在2020年以前将每年增加4,000万辆,而印度将在2020年之前成为世界第三大汽车市场,仅次于中国和美国。
Despite the predicted sales increase, Daimler said
earnings before interest and tax from ongoing business are only expected to come in at last year's level of 9
billion ($11.91 billion) because of heavy investments in new technology, extra production
capacity and
expansion of its product range.
尽管预测到汽车销量增加,但戴姆勒说,预计现有业务的息税前收益将仅能达到去年90亿欧元(合119.1亿美元)的水平,原因是公司要大力投资新技术、扩大产能和产品系列。
The group has been overtaken by BMW as the world's biggest
luxury car maker in recent years, but it was also overhauled by Audi in 2011. It has targeted 2020 as the year it wants to
regain top spot.
近年来,不仅宝马超越了戴姆勒,成为全球最大的豪车制造商,就连奥迪也在2011年4月赶超了戴姆勒。戴姆勒的目标是在2020年重新夺回世界第一大豪车制造商的桂冠。
Daimler has teamed up with Renault to share the cost of developing new small cars and more
efficient engines to meet
increasingly stringent emissions targets in many countries.
戴姆勒已与雷诺联手,共同承担研发新款小型车和更高效发动机的费用,以期满足诸多国家日益严格的排放要求。
STEVE MCGRATH / CHRISTOPH RAUWALD