【英语财经】豪车制造商今年仍看好中国市场 Jaguar Land Rover expects China to be best selling market in 2016

Jaguar Land Rover expects to sell more vehicles in China than anywhere else in 2016, highlighting how upmarket carmakers are hoping for strong sales this year in spite of the country’s economic slowdown.

JLR’s unit sales in China fell last year, reflecting the impact of the country’s slowing economy and the government’s crackdown on conspicuous spending. While some other luxury carmakers had record sales growth, several missed their targets because of the same factors.

However, speaking at the Beijing International Automotive Exposition on Monday, Ralf Speth, JLR chief executive, said China would regain its position as the company’s “number one [market] in terms of volume” in 2016 following a positive first quarter.

China was the best selling market for JLR, owned by India’s Tata Motors, in 2014, but last year it sold the most vehicles in the UK.

Mr Speth said he expected China to regain top spot with UK-based JLR in 2016 partly because the country’s economy was expanding at a relatively strong pace, even if growth was less than in previous years.

His optimism was shared by several rivals, and analysts expect sales of luxury cars in China to rise at a faster rate this year than those of mass market vehicles.

But the luxury car segment risks over crowding. “Everyone wants to become premium — but the premium market is not growing that fast,” says Clemens Wasner at EFS Consulting.

“To make it in the segment now you have to grab market share from someone else.”

Audi, the most popular upmarket carmaker in China, has been affected by the frugality campaign presided over by President Xi Jinping.

Audi rose to prominence in the country partly thanks to its role as “the official’s car” — an unofficial title earned from its popularity among government officials.

However, Audi, a unit of Germany’s Volkswagen group, is experiencing slowing sales growth in China this year.

Unit sales rose 4.2 per cent in the first quarter compared with the same period in 2015. By contrast, sales rose 10.5 per cent year on year in the first quarter of 2015.

But the company is still positive about China. Young consumers in the country are the future for Audi, said Joachim Wedler, its president, noting that the average age of the buyers of the company’s cars in China was 36. “Our history as an official’s car has changed tremendously.”

Incoming brands are keen to expand their presence. Lincoln of the US, Ford’s luxury brand, went from having no China dealerships to 37 in the past 18 months, with a target of 60 by the end of this year, said Kumar Galhotra, president of the marque.

“China as a market is going to pass the US as the number one luxury market in the next few years,” he added.

China has already overtaken the US in sales of mass market vehicles.

Some upmarket carmakers hope new China-focused tactics will allow them to outpace rivals.

Volvo, owned by China’s Geely, revealed a special interior for its S90 luxury saloon. The design has no passenger seat, instead creating an area the length of the interior for work or relaxation — rather like a first-class suite on a passenger jet.

“This very special interior was developed here in China and it will be built here only in China,” said Hakan Samuelsson, Volvo president.

捷豹路虎(Jaguar Land Rover)预计，2016年其在华销量将超过其他任何市场。这件事凸显出，虽然中国经济增长放缓，但豪车制造商仍寄望于今年实现强劲的销售业绩。

捷豹路虎去年在华销量出现下降，反映出中国经济增长放缓以及中国政府抑制炫耀性消费的影响。虽然其他一些豪车制造商在华销量增长创下记录，但也有几家制造商出于同样的原因未实现销售目标。

周一，捷豹路虎首席执行官施韦德(Ralf Speth)在北京国际汽车博览会(Beijing International Automotive Exposition)上表示，随着一季度在华取得良好的业绩，2016年中国将重新成为该公司销量最大的市场。

捷豹路虎是印度塔塔汽车(Tata Motors)的子公司，总部位于英国。2014年，它销量最大的市场是中国，但去年是英国。

施韦德表示，他预计2016年中国将重新成为捷豹路虎的头号市场，部分原因在于中国经济的增长虽低于往年、但增长的步伐仍相对强劲。

捷豹路虎的几家竞争对手也表示了同样的乐观。分析师预计，今年中国豪车销售增长速度将超过面向大众市场的车型。

但豪车这块市场有过度拥挤之嫌。EFS Consulting的克莱门斯?瓦斯纳(Clemens Wasner)表示：“人人都想做高端，但高端市场的增长没有那么快。

“现在要想在这块市场获得成功，你就得抢占别人的市场份额。”

作为中国市场上人气最高的豪车制造商，奥迪(Audi)近来受到了中国国家主席习近平倡导的节俭运动的影响。

奥迪在中国的崛起部分得益于它的“官车”角色——由于有相当多的政府官员乘坐奥迪车，奥迪赢得了这样一个非正式称号。

但是，德国大众汽车集团(Volkswagen)的这家子公司今年在华销量增长正在放缓。

今年一季度，奥迪销量同比增长了4.2%。相比之下，2015年第一季度的同比增长为10.5%。

不过，奥迪仍看好中国。奥迪中国区总经理魏永新(Joachim Wedler)表示，中国年轻消费者是奥迪的未来。他指出，在中国购买奥迪车的消费者平均年龄为36岁。“我们作为官车的历史已经发生了巨大变化。”

正挤入中国市场的品牌渴望扩大自己的市场份额，美国福特(Ford)旗下的豪车品牌林肯(Lincoln)就是其中之一。林肯总裁葛皓华表示，过去一年半时间里，林肯在华经销商数量从零增长到37家，到今年年底的目标是60家。

他还表示：“未来几年中国市场将超越美国，成为豪华车的头号市场。”

在大众市场车辆的销售上，中国早就超过了美国。

部分豪车制造商希望，一些聚焦中国市场的新战术能帮它们超越竞争对手。

中国吉利(Geely)旗下的沃尔沃(Volvo)发布了其S90豪华轿车的独特座舱。这款设计取消了副驾驶席，车内空间被打通成了一个供工作或放松的区域，更像是喷气式客机的头等舱套间。

沃尔沃总裁汉肯?塞缪尔森(Hakan Samuelsson)表示：“这一非常特别的座舱是在中国研发的，它也将只在中国制造。”

译者/何黎