豐田在華業績受挫

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.
豐田汽車(Motor Corp.)在中國遭遇挫折。由於未能預見到小型車需求旺盛，其銷售業績受到抑制，而通用汽車(General Motors)等競爭對手同期銷量卻大幅上升。

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.
銷售下滑對這家世界最大的汽車製造商來說是一個打擊，因爲中國是全球目前唯一一個還在增長的主要汽車市場。在中國市場遭遇的問題加劇了豐田在其他市場的疲軟。預計該公司週五將公佈，在截至3月31日的財政年度發生重大虧損。

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.
豐田今年一季度在中國市場的銷售量較上年同期下降17%，爲125,743輛，而同期中國汽車市場總銷量在小型車需求上升的帶動下增長4%，達到270萬輛。該季度通用汽車(GM)銷量增長17%至363,317輛，其中包括上汽通用五菱(SAIC GM Wuling Automobile Co.)生產的微型商用車。通用在該公司持有少數股份。其他大型汽車製造商同樣也宣佈一季度在華銷售業績強勁，比如日本的日產汽車(Nissan)。通用汽車週二稱，其4月份在華銷量升幅高達50%。預計豐田將於下週初公佈4月份在華銷量。

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.
豐田在中國的根本問題是，對中小城市小型經濟型轎車需求上升的形勢反應遲緩。對於豐田這樣一家以節能型車而聞名、而且通常被認爲很善於抓住客戶需求變化的企業來說，這實在是一個意想不到的失誤。