汽车市场发展走向高端品牌

2014-08-26 15:55:13来源：可可英语

　　But a bigger push is coming from the manufacturers themselves. They are refreshing theirproduct lines faster than any time in memory and extending their brands in ways that wouldhave been unthinkable a decade ago. Few are holding back. Jaguar, a maker of sports carsand sport sedans, is working on a compact crossover, while Bentley is developing an SUV.They are following in the well-established tire tracks of Porsche. The sports car maker hasdoubled its sales with the Cayenne sport utility and Panamera four-door. At the same time,upscale manufacturers are pioneering new technologies that put substance behind their outsizeprice premiums. Mercedes is a leader in assisted driving while BMW pioneers carbon fiberresearch and Jaguar Land Rover perfects techniques in aluminum body structures.

　　更大的推动力则来自汽车厂商本身。他们正在以史无前例的速度更新产品线，并且以10年前根本无法想象的方式扩展他们的品牌。比如跑车品牌捷豹正在研发一款紧凑跨界车型，而宾利(Bentley)正在研发一款SUV。这两家品牌都在复制保时捷的发展轨迹。保时捷的卡宴(Cayenne)SUV和四门版帕纳梅拉(Panamera)的销量已经翻了一番。与此同时，各大高端厂商也不遗余力地开发创新技术，以便让它的价格物有所值。比如奔驰已经成为辅助驾驶技术的领军者，而宝马则积极开展碳纤维研究，捷豹路虎则进一步完善了铝合金车身框架技术。

　　There are lots of risks associated with this new dynamic business model, and it’s early days. Allmanufacturers want a share of luxury sales, and giants like General Motors are continuing toupgrade their popular-priced offerings, forcing consumers to choose between a strippedCadillac and a loaded Chevy Impala. Says Edmunds.com analyst Jessica Caldwell: “As luxurybrands move down-market with their product offerings, mainstream brands are increasingcontent and in-car amenities. As a result, there is a bit of squeeze happening. Right now,luxury brands have a lot of equity built up over the years but that doesn’t last foreverespecially as car shoppers look for value.”

　　这种新的商业模式也带来了不少风险，而且这才是刚开始。所有汽车厂商都想从豪车销售中分一杯羹，像通用汽车(General Motors)这样的行业巨头也在对旗下的平价车型进行持续升级，迫使消费者在减配版的凯迪拉克和高配版的雪佛兰英帕拉(Chevy Impala)之间做选择。汽车网站Edmunds.com的分析师杰西卡o考德维尔表示：“随着豪华品牌携新产品进入平价市场，主流品牌也正在增加车内配置，提高舒适性，因此市场上出现了相互挤压的情况。现在豪华品牌虽然拥有多年积攒下的家当，但这种优势并不会永远持续下去，尤其是购车者最关心的还是车的价值。”

　　More worrisome for luxury manufacturers is the damage that could be done to long-established reputations as they move down the price ladder. History provides some lessons inhow not to succeed. Those with long memories will recall GM’s efforts to turn a ChevroletCavalier into the Cadillac Cimarron in the 1980s or Mercedes’ half-hearted C230 Kompressorhatchback from the early aughts. Lexus boss Mark Templin warns that a $30,000 price may bethe cut off. “You can’t build a Lexus with the quality, the durability, the reliability, thecraftsmanship, the content that we put in a Lexus and sell it profitably under $30,000,” he tellsAutomotive News. “You just can’t do it.

　　对于豪车品牌来说，更值得担心的是随着他们的车型价格的下探，他们长期以来建立的声誉是否会受到影响。历史证明豪车贱卖也有失败的例子。记性好的人可能还记得上世纪80年代通用汽车曾试图把雪佛兰Cavalier改成一款叫做凯迪拉克西马伦(Cimarron)的车型;另外在本世纪头10年，奔驰也推出了一辆差强人意的C230机械增压掀背车。雷克萨斯的老板马克o汤普林警告道，30,000美元是高端品牌的红线。他对《汽车新闻》表示：“以雷克萨斯的质量、耐久性、可靠性、工艺品质和配置，不可能卖到3万美元以下还有利润。根本做不到。”

　　But where there is risk, there can be reward, and aggressive behavior has been paying offwhere it counts: higher sales and richer profits. Mercedes has been selling a front-wheel drivecompact sedan, the CLA, for the better part of a year with a starting price of $29,900 and hasmoved 12,954 units in calendar 2014. The CLA I drove had a surprisingly sophisticateddesign and a smartly fitted interior. Likewise, Audi has managed to reinterpret its best featuresin the A3, which carries a MSRP of $30,975, without sacrificing too many of the brand’straditional qualities.

　　然而有风险就有回报。大胆的尝试也给高端品牌带来了高销量和高利润。比如奔驰的前驱紧凑型轿车CLA的起价只有29,900美元，但从年初到现在，它的销量已经达到12,954台。我试驾过的那辆CLA具有非常复杂的设计，内饰的感觉也很相称。奥迪则将它的精华功能重新布局在A3里，它的建议零售价也只有30,975美元，但并没有牺牲多少该品牌一贯的质量。

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