我也转贴一篇国外对奇瑞的报道。是<<MOTORTREND>>网页上外国人对QR的报道, 好象比我们国人自己了解的还多啊.：
Posted - 08/08/2005 : 20:53:39
This small city in Anhui, one of China's poorest provinces, has little to offer in the way of English-language education. So the families of many Western-trained Chinese engineers live in Shanghai, five hours away by train.
这个位于中国最贫穷省份之一---安徽省的小城市, 在英语教育方面也是很贫乏的, 所以QR许多受西式教育的工程师其家人都生活在上海, 离这个小城坐火车要5个小时.
The night life in Wuhu, population 750,000, amounts to singing karaoke at one of its two four-star hotels. Taxi cabs and trucks share the road with bicycles and the occasional horse-drawn cart loaded with produce from the countryside.
芜湖的人口75W, 有两间四星级酒店, 所有的夜生活也只不过是在这其中的一家酒店唱下卡拉OK罢了. 的士, 货车, 自行车在城市的道路上混行, 间或还可看到乡下来的装满了农产品的马车混在其中.
Yet Wuhu aims to be the car-export capital of China. Chery Automobile, only eight years old, has signed a deal with entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin to ship cars to US dealerships starting in January 2007.
然而芜湖却决心要做中国的出口汽车之都. QR, 一个只有8年历史的汽车制造厂, 已经和企业家Malcolm Bricklin签署了合约, 自2007年1月开始向美国的经销商出口汽车.
A tiny provincial automaker conquering the United States, the biggest market in the world?
一个小小的省级汽车制造厂敢征服美国市场? 它可是全球最大的汽车市场.
It sounds quixotic, but Chery has a chance to realize its dream, though it may not be able to meet Bricklin's deadline. Why? Western-trained Chinese engineers are flocking to Wuhu, driven by patriotism and the chance to make history.
这听起来多少有点唐吉坷德式的幻想主义. QR可能达不到Bricklin定下的目标, 但QR并不是没有机会实现它的梦想. 为什么? 因为大量受过西式教育和训练的华裔工程师凭着爱国的热忱,和在抓住机遇创造历史的信念的驱使下, 正在大量涌入芜湖.
Chery is paying top-notch European and US suppliers and designers to build assembly lines, low-pollution engines and even to design new models for export. And perhaps most importantly, Beijing is bankrolling Chery's export efforts with bank loans and export credits.
QR正在花巨资请欧美的顶级供应商和设计商建立组装生产线, 开发低污染的发动机,甚至为出口设计新车型. 也许还有最重要的一点,就是北京正在通过银行贷款和出口信贷的方式对QR的出口给予资金支援.
''I think Chery's management has the authority and power to do what they say they want to do,'' says a North American supplier who is in discussions with Chery.
”我想QR的管理层有资格也有能力做他们所宣示要做的事.” 一位北美供应商在谈到QR时作如是说.
But while Chery has many strengths, pulling off the ambitious plan depends on strengthening its weakest link - mid-level management and workers in its own plants and those of its suppliers.
QR虽然有它的实力, 但要实现其野心勃勃的计划却要克服其软肋- 中层管理人员和工人的素质及其供应商.
They must banish years of bad habits left over from decades of a planned economy that emphasized high volume, not high quality. And if the first models fail to meet picky US consumers' expectations, it could set Chery's export plans back years.
他们必须克服过去计划经济体制下多年遗留下来的坏习惯-只重产量, 不重质量. 如果QR的第一款出口美国的车型让极其挑剔的美国消费者失望的话, 那么这将使其出口计划严重受挫, 出口不得不推迟很多年.
''We still have a big challenge,'' says a Chery manager with a decade of experience working in the US.
”我们仍然面对很大的挑战”, 一位在美国工作过10几年的QR的经理这样说.
Chery has a short history of turning out cars. Founded in 1997, it endured rocky early years, nearly going bankrupt because it couldn't get a license to sell cars nationwide. Then, Chery got Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp to become a part owner in 2001, allowing it to piggyback on Shanghai Auto's license to sell cars nationally.
QR生产汽车的历史很短. 它成立于1997年, 早期生存很艰难, 因为没有取得销售汽车的许可甚至还一度处于破产的边缘. 后来, QR在2001年让上汽集团成了其股东之一, 借助上汽的许可证才开始在全国销售汽车.
In 2004, Chery sold 86,567 cars. By comparison, Shanghai Volkswagen, China's largest carmaker, sold 353,649.
2004年, QR售出了86,567辆汽车, 同期上海大众, 这个中国最大的汽车制造商, 销量是353,649.
Chery founded a research and engineering institute in 2003 that now boasts 800 engineers. It has developed three- and four-cylinder engines on its own.
2003年QR成立了汽车研发和工程学院, 现在已经有超过800位工程师在那工作, 并自主研发出了三缸和四缸的发动机.
Intellectual property questions dog Chery nonetheless. General Motors charges that the QQ subcompact, Chery's best-selling model, is a copy of its Chevrolet Spark, also built in China. The case is pending.
然而, 知识产权纠纷也在纠缠着QR. 通用指控QR最畅销的微型车QQ盗版了它的雪佛兰SPARK,后者也在中国制造. 官司现在还没判决.
The models it aims to export are all new designs, says the Chery manager. Bricklin said he will sell at least five different models in the United States beginning in January 2007.
QR的经理说其出口的车型都会是新设计的. Bricklin说从2007年1月开始他在美国最少要销售5款不同类型的QR汽车.
A trio of Chery engineers with PhDs from US universities and more than 30 years' cumulative experience in the American auto industry are cautious about meeting Bricklin's 2007 deadline.
QR有三位在美国大学读取博士学位并在美国汽车制造业有着30多年积累经验的工程师, 他们对于能否达致Bricklin2007年的目标持谨慎态度.`
`We will play it by ear,'' says one over coffee in a Wuhu hotel.
”我们会尽力去做”, 在芜湖的酒店里喝咖啡时其中一位这样说.
Returning engineers are one of Chery's strengths. Some two dozen now work there and more are coming.
海归工程师是QR的实力之一. 现在QR已经有20多位海归工程师, 更多的海归工程师还在加盟QR.
Chery started advertising for them in 2003 in the newsletter of the Association of North American Chinese Engineers. Nobody took the ad seriously at first, says one of the returnees. Now they do.
QR2003年开始在北美华裔工程师协会的会刊上登广告聘请海外工程师. 一位海归者说, 那个时候还没有引起多少人的注意, 但现在不同了, 他们完全被QR吸引.
Industry people who have met Chery's president, Yin Tongyao, and other top management, sing their praises. ``Management overall is quite professional,'' says Paul Gao, a principal with McKinsey & Associates in Shanghai. ``They have a strong can-do mentality.'' Yin turned down repeated requests for an interview.
会见过QR的董事长尹同耀和其它QR高层管理人员的工业界人士对其非常推崇. PAUL GAO, 麦肯锡顾问公司上海分公司的负责人, 这样评价QR: “管理层整体非常专业, 他们有着非常强的自信”. 尹同耀曾多次拒绝对他本人的采访要求.
Chery has hired Italian design houses Bertone and Pininfarina to design new models for export, and Austria's AVL List and Britain's Ricardo to design engines that can meet US and European emissions and safety standards.
QR聘请了意大利的Bertone和Pininfarina设计公司为其设计出口的新款车型, 奥地利的AVL和英国的Ricardo为其设计能满足欧美排放和安全标准的发动机.
``The level of intent is absolutely clear,'' says an executive at one of the engine design firms. ``Chery has its sights set on export.''
”目标是绝对明确的”, 其中一间发动机设计公司的执行官说, “QR的目光投向了出口.”
Money isn't a problem. The firm is owned by the local government and favored by the national government. In March, Chery received a five billion yuan (HK$4.7 billion) export credit for overseas expansion from China's Export and Import Bank. It also received a US$290.2 million (HK$2.3 billion) loan for research and development from the China Development Bank.
资金也不是问题. QR是地方政府的企业, 也受到国家政府的优惠待遇. 3月份, QR从中国进出口银行获得了50亿元人民币(合47亿港币)的出口信贷, 用于其海外扩张. 另外还从中国发展银行获得了2.902亿美元(合23亿港币)的贷款, 用于研发.
Chery has purchased state-of-the-art production equipment for cars and engines, say visitors.
参观过QR的人说, QR采购了用于生产汽车和发动机的最先进的工业设备.``
The assembly line is all brand new,'' says a western supplier who has visited the facility. ``Manufacturing experts who have seen the plant say Chery must have spent US$1 billion on it.''
”组装线是全新的”, 一位参观过QR设备的西方供应商说, “看过QR工厂的业内行家能够断言, QR为此肯定投资了10个亿美元”. (译注: 不知是否有误, 原文如此. 如果属实, 乖乖隆咚不得了了, 那是80多亿人民币呀, 比国内任何厂家都大手笔, 豪赌啊).
Chery suppliers also use imported equipment. A manager at a local engine parts maker proudly shows off his Fata Group machine tooling equipment from Italy.
QR的供应商也装备进口的设备. 一位当地的发动机配件供应厂的经理很自豪的展示着其从意大利进口”Fata”集团进口的机床设备.
``I'm pretty optimistic about Chery's future in terms of exports,'' says the supplier.
”我对QR的汽车出口非常乐观”, 这位供应商说.
But his optimism fades as he examines the finish on his new Chery Oriental Son sedan.
但当他检查他的新车QR DFZZ时他的乐观也不免显得有些褪色.`
`Look at this welding,'' he says, pointing to a rough spot inside the rear trunk. ``This really looks ugly.''
”看这个焊接缝”, 他指着后备箱里的一处粗糙点说, “这真的很难看”.
Attention to such detail - which can make the difference between success or failure - is where Chery slips up, says the manager, who worked in Europe for more than a decade.
”不要小瞧这些细节, 它能令一个车型成功或失败, 而这些细节的东西也正是QR所忽略的”. 这位经理说, 他曾经在欧洲工作过10几年.
He attributes the problem to the ``iron rice bowl'' mentality left over from the days when lifetime employment was guaranteed and quality was not a concern.
他把问题归咎为以前遗留下的”铁饭碗”思想, 因为员工的一生都有保障, 是不关心品质的.
``It's not easy to change the thinking,'' he says. ``Just meeting customers' needs is not enough. Chery has to surpass their expectations.''
他说, “要改变这种思想并不容易, QR不能够只做到客人所想, 还要做到超客人所想”.
The three Chery engineers are frank about the obstacles Chery faces.
QR的三位工程师不避喡QR面临的樽颈.
``One of our important missions is to develop our suppliers,'' says one.
”我们很重要的一个任务就是要发展我们的供应商”, 其中一位说.
For example, many critical powertrain components are still imported from Europe, he says. Chery needs to be able to buy the same quality parts in China to meet its low price goals.
他说, 许多关键的传动装置部件还是要从欧洲进口, QR需要从中国本地采购相同质量的部件, 完成低成本的目标.
Around Chery, Malcolm Bricklin's nickname is ``The Mouth.'' He boasts that he will introduce a stylish, high-quality new car to the US every quarter for three years, priced 30 percent below the lowest-priced competitor.
关于QR, Malcolm Bricklin得了个”夸夸其谈者”的外号. 他吹嘘他要连续三年每一季度导入一款漂亮高质的QR新车进入美国市场, 比售价最低的竞争车型还要便宜30%.
The engineers are wary of Bricklin's bravado. ``Maybe we will meet that deadline,'' says one. ``But we know what American customers will accept. Unless we are satisfied with the quality, we won't bring a model to the US.''
三位工程师对Bricklin的自信还是很谨慎的, “我们也许会达到那个目标. 但我们知道美国的消费者会接受什么. 除非我们的质量做的很满意, 否则一辆车型也别想打进美国市场.”
下面是马来网友的跟贴
I do not doubt that the carmakers of China will become global threats to the established makes before long, and certainly faster than the Japanese and Koreans have reached their current positions. As I keep saying, I remember how people looked down on Japanese cars when I was small, and today, they are willing to pay extra for a Japanese make.
我不怀疑中国的汽车制造商将会成为现有汽车大头们的全球威胁, 可以肯定的是中国还会比日韩更快的取得日韩他们现在取得的汽车地位. 我多次说过, 我记得我小时候人们是那么的瞧不起日本的汽车, 但今天, 他们宁愿付高价买日车.
The Chinese have all the lessons and bad experiences of the Japanese and Koreans to study and avoid PLUS the latest computerised technologies to do everything faster. The Japanese started with slide rules only and made prototypes of wood and clay by hand.
中国有日韩的所有经验和教训可供学习并避免走同样的弯路, 再加上还有最新的电脑技术, 这些会让他们走的更快. 日本人开始造车的年代还只有幻灯片而已, 要用木头做原型并手工粘接.
The Chinese can also buy a lot of expertise and equipment now. They can buy identical manufacturing equipment so in theory, they can achieve the same quality. However, because they are in the start-up phase where they still don't have money, they need to keep costs down so they are compromising on materials now until they get their volumes high enough for economies of scale.
中国人现在也能买断许多技术和设备, 他们能买一样的生产设备, 因此理论上讲他们可以做到同样的质量. 然而, 因为他们才刚起步, 这个时候资金不够, 要降低成本, 因此现在就要在材料上妥协, 直到他们产量上去达到了规模效益为止.
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