经济学人下载:德国汽车生产商 稳居第三

Business
商业报道

German carmakers
德国汽车生产商

Stuck in third
稳居第三

Daimler is set to keep chugging down the Autobahn behind BMW and Audi
奔驰意欲一举赶超宝马奥迪

AS A corporate motto, The best or nothing has a timeless quality.
作为戴姆勒公司的座右铭，唯有最好彰显著一种永恒的品质。

Gottlieb Daimler pasted it on the wall as he went about inventing the modern car in the late 19th century.
十九世纪晚期，当戈特利布·戴姆勒着手发明现代汽车的时候，他将这句话贴在墙上。

In 2010 the firm that bears his name adopted it as a slogan.
2010年，这个以其创始人名字命名的公司将这句话作为广告语。

It was as badly timed as a misfiring engine. Mercedes-Benz, Daimler's car division, already trailing BMW in terms of sales and profitability, saw another Geman premium carmaker, Audi, also start to pull away in the same year.
作为一个正走下坡路的公司，这个口号来的有点晚。在销量、盈利方面，戴姆勒旗下的奔驰都已双双落后宝马。同期，德国另一高档汽车制造商奥迪也开始将奔驰甩在身后。

Yet this year Daimler's shares have surged by 40%, persuading optimists that the firm is catching up.
然而，今年戴姆勒公司的股价涨幅高达40%，乐观人士开始相信该公司正逐步赶上。

This week it said its worldwide sales in October had risen 15% year-on-year to a new record.
据说，本周戴姆勒10月份的全球销量同比增长15%，再创新高。

Dieter Zetsche, Daimler's boss, is confident.
对此，戴勒姆现任董事长迪特·蔡澈信心十足。

At theFrankfurtmotor show in September he reiterated that his firm can become the world's top premium carmaker by 2020, helped by the launch of a fleet of new models.
9月，戴勒姆公司在法兰克福车展上发布了多款新车，藉此机会他重申到2020年戴勒姆将会成为世界上最顶级高档汽车制造商。

Before this year's rally, Daimler's shares were roughly where they were when Mr Zetsche took over in 2006, whereas BMW's had doubled.
在此之前，戴勒姆公司的股价同蔡澈2006年刚接手时差不多，而现如今宝马股价早已翻了一番。

Mr Zetsche has completed Daimler's return to its core business of making premium cars after years of costly errors.
多年的错误导向让戴勒姆公司付出了惨重的代价，蔡澈让公司重新回到其核心业务，即豪华汽车上。

An attempt in the 1990s to turn it into a transport conglomerate, adding planes, trains and even spaceships to the mix, had ended in failure.
上世纪九十年代，戴勒姆公司尝试向运输集团转型，增加了飞机、火车、甚至宇宙飞船制造业务，但却以失败告终。

Mr Zetsche presided over the demise of Daimler's stab at becoming a global car giant by merging with Chrysler and allying with Mitsubishi and Hyundai.
蔡澈接任戴勒姆公司董事长后便朝着全球汽车制造巨头的方向迈进，先同克莱斯勒公司合并，后又同日本三菱及韩国现代强强合作。

He sold the American carmaker at a spanking loss, the year after he took over. Fiat ofItalynow controls it.
接任戴勒姆董事长后，在面临巨大损失的情况下，蔡澈于同年将克莱斯勒出售给了意大利菲亚特。

These activities had distracted Daimler from the business of making classy cars.
这一系列事件分散了戴勒姆公司制造高档车的精力，

The entry-level A Class, introduced in 1997 and intended to induce a new generation to the Mercedes brand, was a flop; Smart, a frugal city car, was a financial disaster.
公司1997年开始发布的入门级车奔驰A系列，随后尝试引入新款，却以失败告终。奔驰微型都市车Smart堪称公司的财务灾难，

A dull mid-range E Class failed to meet buyers' expectations of a luxury barge.
毫无生气的中档E系车同样未能达到卖家对奢侈汽车的预期。

Worse still, the reliability of its cars fell and its reputation for engineering excellence waned.
更糟糕的是，奔驰车性能可靠性降低了，其卓越的设计能力也在减退。

In the past couple of years Daimler has issued profit warnings even as pricey cars have prospered, outgrowing the market as a whole.
在过去的两年，尽管高档车销量不俗，优于市场整体情况，但戴勒姆仍旧发布了盈利警告。

Mercedes's image as a car for the grey-haired has held it back.
梅赛德斯作为老年人车型的形象阻碍了公司的发展，

By concentrating its efforts on saloons, it missed out as BMW and Audi grabbed a share of the hottest new part of the market—SUVs.
过分注重车展又让其错失了市场新宠—SUVs，而宝马、奥迪却抓住了这一良机。

Meanwhile those competitors also stretched the definition of a premium-segment car by introducing luxurious smaller models.
与此同时，通过引入豪华小型车，这两大竞争对手又拓展了高档车的定义。

Daimler is now trying to put that right with its new models.
现今，戴勒姆正尝试引入新款车型以扭转局面。

The new GLA, launched at Frankfurt, and a GLK, set for the roads in 2015, will at last give smaller BMW X Series and Audi Q range SUVs some serious competition.
今年，奔驰在法兰克福车展上发布了GLA，而GLK将于2015年面世，此举至少会为宝马X系及奥迪Q系SUVs带来巨大竞争。

In small cars the CLA, a pint-size saloon, is in a niche of its own.
小型车奔驰CLA级势必也会占据一席之地，

The launch of new models in the range-topping S Class will also boost sales.
而作为奔驰顶级的S系新车同样会促进公司业绩。

Daimler is following BMW and Audi in making a broader range of vehicles to suit more tastes.
戴勒姆紧随宝马、奥迪的步伐，开发更多车系以迎合更多人的需求。

It should improve profitability, which has lagged the consistent 9-10% margins of its two rivals, by reducing its main platforms, the basic underpinnings of its vehicles, from four to two.
鉴于戴勒姆的盈利能力已经持续落后其两大竞争对手九到十个百分点，因此该公司真正需要是将平台板—汽车的基础结构—从四个减少到两个，以此提升其盈利能力。

More standardisation and common parts, and faster development times for new models, should lower costs.
采用更多标准化及通用部件，缩短研发新车时间，同样有助于降低成本。

But BMW and Audi have similar plans and may well do a better job.
但是，宝马、奥迪也有着类似盘算，或许会比戴勒姆做的更好。

Both of Daimler's German rivals have a more efficient workforce that toils for lower pay.
摩根斯坦利称，宝马、奥迪生产效率高于奔驰，且工资水平更低；

BMW sells 30% more cars with the same number of workers, says Morgan Stanley, a bank.
在相同的劳动力情况下，宝马的销量超过奔驰30%。

In China, the world's biggest market for cars of all price brackets, Daimler arrived late and entered a joint venture with a local firm on unfavourable terms.
中国是世界上各档车最大的市场，戴勒姆打入该市场晚于其对手，且在不利的条件下同当地公司开办了合资公司。

BMW outsells Mercedes by 70%; Audi sells twice as many cars.
宝马在中国的销量超过奔驰70%，而奥迪的销量是奔驰的两倍。

But Daimler has now tidied up a messy dealership network in which outlets selling imports and ones selling locally made cars had competed with each other.
但是，现在戴勒姆正逐步理顺同当地经销商的关系，中国部分经销商销售国外进口奔驰车，部分经销商则销售中国国内制造的奔驰车，这也就导致了二者之间相互竞争。

Now it needs to speed up the opening of new showrooms in smaller inland cities.
现在，奔驰需要加快在中国内陆中小城市开设展示厅的部分。

Daimler's technology, the key to meeting increasingly strict emissions targets, also lags its rivals'.
戴勒姆的技术同样落后于两大竞争对手，而这又是满足日益严格排放标准的关键。

BMW has left it standing with the launch of its new range of electric cars. Catching up will be hard.
宝马的电动汽车系列发布指日可待，迎头赶上势必困难重重。

BMW, controlled by the Quandt family, has steady leadership that can back long-term research and development.
由科万特家族控制的宝马领导团队稳固，这有利于公司的长期研发。

Audi can draw on the vast resources of its parent, VW.
奥迪则可依靠其母公司大众旗下的广袤资源。

Harald Hendrikse of Nomura, a bank, sees Mercedes, more sensitive to the whims of investors and the quarterly reporting cycle, as more short-termist and conservative.
野村证券的亨德里克斯认为奔驰更为依赖投资者的兴趣，对季度报告也很敏感，只顾短期利益，且顽固保守。

Despite its bumpy ride Daimler still has a strong brand and decent revenues from cars as well as a solid truck, van and bus business.
尽管戴勒姆公司遭遇不顺，但其扔有着强势的品牌，而且旗下轿车、卡车、货车及公共汽车带来的收入也不错。

And compared with the rest of the global car industry it is nicely profitable.
此外，同全球其他车商相比，戴勒姆的盈利能力更好。

Critics say that Daimler's bosses are a little disconnected from reality in claiming that the firm will one day lead the pack again.
戴勒姆老总称公司有朝一日将会领先群雄，批评人士指责其不切实际。

But it is probably a better management ploy than sticking up a sign saying Third-best or nothing.
但是，比起死守着唯有第三的口号，这或许是个更好的管理策略。