丰田在华业绩受挫

Toyota Motor Corp. has hit a pothole in China, where its failure to anticipate booming demand for small cars is depressing sales as rivals like General Motors Corp. report sharp gains.
丰田汽车(Motor Corp.)在中国遭遇挫折。由于未能预见到小型车需求旺盛，其销售业绩受到抑制，而通用汽车(General Motors)等竞争对手同期销量却大幅上升。

The sales slump is a blow to the world's biggest auto maker because China is the only major global auto market still growing. The problem adds to weakness in other markets for Toyota, which is expected Friday to report big losses for the year through March 31.
销售下滑对这家世界最大的汽车制造商来说是一个打击，因为中国是全球目前唯一一个还在增长的主要汽车市场。在中国市场遭遇的问题加剧了丰田在其他市场的疲软。预计该公司周五将公布，在截至3月31日的财政年度发生重大亏损。

Toyota's China sales in the first quarter of 2009 fell 17% from a year earlier to 125,743 vehicles, even as the total Chinese market, fueled by rising demand for small cars, grew 4% to 2.7 million vehicles. GM's sales gained 17% to 363,317 vehicles, including commercial microminivans made by SAIC GM Wuling Automobile Co., in which GM holds a minority stake. Other big producers, like Japanese rival Nissan Motor Co., also reported strong first-quarter sales. GM on Tuesday said its China sales rose an even-faster 50% in April. Toyota is expected to report April sales for China early next week.
丰田今年一季度在中国市场的销售量较上年同期下降17%，为125,743辆，而同期中国汽车市场总销量在小型车需求上升的带动下增长4%，达到270万辆。该季度通用汽车(GM)销量增长17%至363,317辆，其中包括上汽通用五菱(SAIC GM Wuling Automobile Co.)生产的微型商用车。通用在该公司持有少数股份。其他大型汽车制造商同样也宣布一季度在华销售业绩强劲，比如日本的日产汽车(Nissan)。通用汽车周二称，其4月份在华销量升幅高达50%。预计丰田将于下周初公布4月份在华销量。

The root of Toyota's China problem is a slow response to increasing demand outside China's biggest cities for small, affordable cars -- an unexpected lapse by a company known for its fuel-efficient vehicles and generally seen as adept at grasping changes in customer desires.
丰田在中国的根本问题是，对中小城市小型经济型轿车需求上升的形势反应迟缓。对于丰田这样一家以节能型车而闻名、而且通常被认为很善于抓住客户需求变化的企业来说，这实在是一个意想不到的失误。