分析：沃尔沃努力提振在华销量

Volvo Cars’ new chief executive H?kan Samuelsson is introducing measures to boost sales in China as the struggling Swedish luxury carmaker tries to bridge a gap until new models are launched in two years’ time.

沃尔沃汽车公司(Volvo Cars)新任首席执行官霍坎·萨穆埃尔松(H?kan Samuelsson)正在采取措施、以期提振该公司在华销量。这家目前处境困难的瑞典豪华汽车生产商希望借此填补未来两年（新车型上市以前）的市场空白期。

Mr Samuelsson, in his first interview since becoming chief executive in October, said that Chinese sales would be crucial in the coming years after a deterioration in the past two months in Europe, the biggest market for the company, which is owned by China’s Geely.

萨穆埃尔松今年10月份成为沃尔沃的首席执行官。在就任后接受的第一次采访中，他表示，未来几年沃尔沃在华销售情况至关重要，而近两个月来这家中国汽车制造商吉利(Geely)旗下公司在其最大市场——欧洲市场——的表现不断变差。

“We have to come through these two years .?.?. The market is falling very, very fast in Europe. It is a drastic reduction. It has accelerated in the past few months, he told the Financial Times in his office in Gothenburg next to one of Volvo Cars’ main factories.

萨穆埃尔松的办公室位于瑞典哥德堡(Gothenburg)，紧邻沃尔沃汽车的一家主要工厂。他在自己的办公室中对英国《金融时报》表示：“我们必须熬过这两年……欧洲汽车市场的下滑非常、非常快。降幅十分显著。并且近几个月来下滑速度还在加快。

Sales in China have so far been disappointing for Volvo despite its Chinese ownership. In the 11 months until the end of November, it sold just 37,633 cars in China, 9 per cent fewer than in the previous year. Its German rival BMW by contrast sold 296,000 cars, 37 per cent up on a year earlier.

虽然沃尔沃在中资公司旗下，但到目前为止沃尔沃汽车在华销售情况令人失望。今年头11个月，该公司在华汽车销量仅37,633辆，同比减少了9%。而其来自德国的竞争对手宝马(BMW)同期汽车销量为296,000辆，同比增加37%。

Mr Samuelsson is taking action, proposing three steps to get its Chinese sales back on track quickly. First is to better get across to customers the company’s emphasis on safety. The second is to train the sales organisation. “They need to be better at arguing for the product, Mr Samuelsson says.

针对这种情况，萨穆埃尔松正在采取行动，提出分三步将沃尔沃在华销售情况迅速拉回正轨。第一步是，更好地向消费者传达公司对于汽车安全性的高度重视。第二步是，对销售部门进行培训。萨穆埃尔松说：“他们需要提高说服消费者购买的技巧。

Finally, he wants to introduce dealerships in cities and regions where Volvo is not present. The goal is for Volvo to grow at least as strongly in China as the rest of the premium market, something it is currently some distance away from.

第三步，萨穆埃尔松希望在沃尔沃经销网点目前未覆盖的一些城市和地区招募经销商。目标是使沃尔沃汽车在华销量增长至少如其他豪华汽车一样强劲。目前该公司离实现这一目标尚有一段距离。

“I suspect we will see some improvement in six months’ time. It would be very welcome. We need it, Mr Samuelsson adds.

萨穆埃尔松补充称：“我怀疑，情况在未来六个月里就会有一些起色。我们非常希望是这样。我们急需看到情况有起色。

The reason is the collapse in the European market. Sales this year are down 11 per cent in Europe and 14 per cent in its home market of Sweden, a worldwide fall of 6 per cent. Mr Samuelsson tries to strike an upbeat note: “Hopefully we have reached the bottom. That is a hope. But it could get worse before it gets better.

沃尔沃急切寻求改善在华业绩的原因在于，欧洲市场显著萎缩。今年以来，沃尔沃汽车在欧洲地区的销量下降了11%，在其本土瑞典市场的销量下降了14%，在整个全球销量下降了6%。萨穆埃尔松试图对此表示乐观。他说：“希望我们现已触底。这是我们的主观愿望。但情况在转好之前还有可能进一步恶化。

His intention for next year is to “defend our market share in Europe, which implies falling sales if the overall market shrinks. In the US a similar fall is likely as Volvo discontinues some car models, although Mr Samuelsson says it should keep its SUV market share.

他希望下一年公司能够守住“在欧洲的市场份额，而这意味着，如果欧洲市场销量整体下滑，该公司在欧洲的销量也将同步下滑。沃尔沃在美国的销量也有可能下滑，因为一些车型将停产。但萨穆埃尔松表示，公司应该能够守住在运动型多用途车(SUV)市场所占的份额。

The sales lost in the time since Mr Samuelsson started – the equivalent of 20,000 or so cars – need to be compensated for by more than SKr1bn ($150m) of cost cutting, he says.

沃尔沃自萨穆埃尔松上任以来销量损失相当于约20000辆汽车。萨穆埃尔松表示，为弥补这一损失，公司必须缩减成本逾10亿瑞典克朗（合1.5亿美元）。

“Consultants, IT, commercial ads, PR – all will be restricted as the focus is placed on developing new products for the end of 2014 and 2015. “We will be very strict on costs to come through these two years.

萨穆埃尔松指出，“咨询、IT、商业广告、公关，一切费用都将受到限制，因为目前公司将主要精力放在了开发将于2014底至2015年推出的新车型上。他说：“在新车型上市前的两年里，公司将采取非常严格的成本控制措施。

He says a target of breaking even at an operational level will be “very, very difficult to reach this year. Next year “the target is still to break even, but that will also be very tough.

萨穆埃尔松指出，今年在运营层面实现收支平衡将是个“非常、非常难以实现的目标。他说：“公司明年仍将把收支平衡作为目标，不过实现难度将依然很大。

Mr Samuelsson is under no illusions about the scale of the task he has taken on. The Volvo job represents a return to his home country after he left truckmaker Scania a decade ago to join its German rival MAN, where he became chief executive.

萨穆埃尔松对自己肩上担子的分量有非常清醒的认识。担任沃尔沃的首席执行官对他来说意味着“回家。10年前他离开了瑞典卡车制造商斯堪尼亚(Scania)，加入该公司的德国竞争对手曼集团(MAN)担任首席执行官。

He gained kudos with investors for pushing through a restructuring of the conglomerate before blotting his copybook by launching an ill-fated hostile takeover of Scania. He then resigned amid a corruption scandal, of which he denies any knowledge, and which is being investigated by prosecutors in Munich.

在曼集团任职期间，萨穆埃尔松通过大力推动集团重组赢得了股东赞誉，但后来因对斯堪尼亚发起的敌意收购结局不佳而名声受损。此后，萨穆埃尔松受一桩腐败丑闻牵连而辞职，但他声称对腐败案毫不知情。目前慕尼黑检方正在调查此案。

His plan for Volvo in the longer term rests on three elements. First is to strengthen Volvo’s brand. Mr Samuelsson wants it to stand not just for safety but Scandinavian design and functionality as well.

萨穆埃尔松对沃尔沃的长期规划主要包括三点。第一是提升沃尔沃的品牌形象。萨穆埃尔松希望沃尔沃不仅是安全性的典范，还要成为斯堪的纳维亚式设计以及功能性的典范。

The second strand is new products. A new XC90, Volvo’s large SUV, will be introduced at the end of 2014 and car blogs speculate that the S80 saloon will be updated the following year as the Swedish company switches from platforms developed by Ford, its former owner, to ones it has developed.

第二点是推出新产品。随着沃尔沃由之前的东家福特(Ford)开发的平台转移到自己开发的平台，这家瑞典公司将在2014年底推出一款全新的大型运动多功能车XC90。汽车博客还纷纷预言，该公司将在2015年推出S80轿车的升级版。

The final part is cultural and based on its small size, selling just 450,000 cars a year compared with 1.7m for BMW and 8m at Volkswagen. “We have to be nimble, dynamic and faster as an organisation. We can’t afford to be as bureaucratic or [have such long] decision-making processes as a 4m car company, he says.

最后一点是关于企业文化的，并与沃尔沃相对较小的销量规模有关。沃尔沃汽车年销量仅45万辆，而宝马和大众(Volkswagen)汽车的年销量则分别为170万辆和800万辆。萨穆埃尔松指出：“作为一家企业，我们必须更加灵活、更加多变、反应更加迅速。年销量达到400万辆的车企那种官僚主义作风或（冗长的）决策流程，是我们无法承受的。

Asked if Volvo is in the last-chance saloon, he says: “There is absolutely no reason for us to think we have a second chance. We have to do it right now to secure our future?.?.?.? It is also a challenge that is extremely difficult, but that also makes it interesting.

在被问及目前沃尔沃是否正打算背水一战时，萨穆埃尔松表示：“我们绝无理由认为自己还有第二次机会。我们必须马上采取行动，以确保未来仍有生存空间……这是一个非常艰巨的挑战，但也正因如此才格外引人入胜。

‘The market is falling very, very fast in Europe.

萨穆埃尔松补充道：“欧洲的汽车市场目前萎缩的速度非常、非常快。