美國人擁抱中國製造的SUV

Greg Shafer ended a lifelong streak of buyingU.S.-made cars when in August the 53-year-old drove out of a Columbus, Ohio,dealership behind the wheel of a Buick Envision.

Greg Shafer結束了這一生中始終購買美國造汽車的習慣，在今年八月份他53歲的時候，他開着一輛別克昂科威從俄亥俄州哥倫布市的經銷商那駛出。

His $40,000 sport-utility vehicle is one of thefirst cars to be sold in America that was built in China. Mr. Shafer decidedits provenance wasn’t an issue because “once you drive it and experience allthe features, it feels far from a made-in-China car.”

他的這輛4萬美元的SUV是第一輛在中國製造並在美國出售的車。Shafer先生明確的表示這輛車在哪裏被製造不是問題，因爲“當你駕駛它並體驗他的所有功能後，會讓你忘了這是一輛中國製造的汽車。”

As the U.S. auto industry’s rising reliance onMexican car factories becomes a hot topic in the 2016 presidential election,customers like Mr. Shafer are delivering a boost to General Motors Co.’smade-in-China strategy.

美國汽車工業的成長依賴於墨西哥工廠已經成爲2016年總統大選的人話題。對於通用公司來說，像Shafer先生這樣的客戶成爲了其中國製造戰略的助推劑。

The No.1 U.S. auto maker in terms of salesstarted selling the Chinese-built Buick Envision in North American dealerships inlate spring, importing relatively small numbers of the vehicles to give a boostto the Buick brand. A few months into the experiment, dealers are clamoring formore because they say most of their customers don’t care where the vehicle ismade.

美國排名第一的汽車製造商於春季晚些時候在北美經銷商處開始銷售少量的中國製造的別克昂科威，以對別克品牌進行提升。幾個月的實驗後，經銷商都吵着要更多的車，因爲他們發現他們的客戶根本不在乎車是在哪造的。

“There has been very little pushback,” said Chris Haydocy, co-ownerof the Haydocy Buick GMC in Columbus, where Mr. Shafer bought his SUV. “Mostpeople realize the world is flat now.”

“這很少有人拒絕”，Haydocy Buick GMC在哥倫布市的合夥人Chris Haydocy說，Shafer就是在他那買的車。“大部分人都認爲現在的世界是扁平的”。

The made-in-China label is a new one for theU.S. auto industry and represents a hurdle due to quality concerns. Cars withbad fit-and-finish and outdated components have been displayed by indigenousChinese auto makers at U.S. auto shows for years, but have never been made availablefor sale here.

中國製造是美國汽車產業的一個新標籤，這也代表了一些障礙，由於之前的一些質量問題。中國本土的製造商已經在美國將其那些劣質的和過時的零件在美國展示多年，但從來沒在這兒賣過。

China’s growing reputation for making higher-endconsumer goods such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone has made the idea of Chinese-madecars more acceptable for U.S. buyers, saidMichael Dunne, a strategy andinvestment adviser at Dunne Automotive Ltd.

中國在高端消費品例如蘋果手機方面增長的名聲讓美國消費者更容易接受中國製造汽車這一概念，Dunne汽車有限公司的戰略和投資顧問Michael Dunne說。

GM’s decision to import the Envision, disclosedlate last year, riled factory workers at home. The United Auto Workers calledit a “slap in the face to U.S. taxpayers” that had financially supported GM inthe 2009 bailout of the auto industry.

通用汽車公司於去年年底披露決定進口昂科威，這激怒了那些沒有工作的工人。美國汽車工人稱這是“給美國納稅人的一記耳光”，通用汽車在汽車工業方面受到了國家財政支持2009次。

GM said the strategy made sense because Buick,which is one of the largest-selling brands in China, had holes in its uct lineup at a time when low gasoline prices had buyers clamoring for moreSUVs. With ample Envision capacity at a Shandong province factory, executivesdecided to carve out tens of thousands of units and send them to the U.S.

通用公司稱，這個戰略是非常有意義的，別克是中國銷量最好的品牌，美國在一段時間內對於產品整容有着缺口，當油價下跌時，消費者會對SUV有更多的需求。隨着山東省的工廠具有充足的產能，管理層決定生產數以萬計的車輛並將其送往美國。

“This isthe advantage of having such a strong presence in the two biggest markets inthe world,” GM North America President Alan Batey said in an interview. “Wecouldn’t have done it [in the U.S.] if China hadn’t done that vehicle.”

“擁有世界最大的兩個市場是非常有利的，”通用汽車北美總裁Alan Batey在採訪中說道。“我們無法再美國這麼做，如果沒有在中國生產。”

Volvo Car Corp., owned by China’s Zhejiang GeelyHolding Group, last year began shipping small numbers of a version of its S60sedan to the U.S. from a plant in Chengdu.

由中國吉利控股的沃爾沃汽車公司，去年在美國開始少量出售在成都生產的S60型號汽車。

In the U.S., Buick barely ranks among the top 20auto brands by sales volume. The brand is a stalwart in China, however, wheresales are quadruple Buick’s annual U.S. volume and more than double whatChevrolet sells in China.

在美國，別克勉強排在銷售榜前20名。但在中國別克是一個強有力的品牌，其銷售量是美國的4倍，且2倍於雪佛蘭在中國的銷量。

The Envision is built by Shanghai GM, the automaker’s joint venture with SAICMotorCorp., but was designed and engineered by GM at a facility just outsideDetroit. Last week, the Envision earned the top safety rating from theInsurance Institute for Highway Safety.

昂科威由上海通用汽車有限公司製造，這是上汽集團和美國通用的合資企業，但車輛的設計是在底特律外的一個工廠完成的。下週，昂科威就會獲得由美國公路安全保險協會測試得出的最高安全評級。

The Envision quickly became one of Buick’s topsellers in China as buyers moved to SUVs from sedans and vans. GM sold about150,000 Envisions last year—its first full year on the market—and is on pace totop 200,000 this year, on par with Jeep Cherokee sales in the U.S. The brand isselling more than 1,500 Envisions a month in the U.S. as GM ramps up imports.

昂科威很快就會取代轎車貨車成爲別克在中國最暢銷的汽車。通用公司在去年賣出了15萬臺昂科威，這是上市後的第一年，今年計劃達到20萬臺，這相當於切諾基在美國的銷量。隨着通用公司進口量的增加，在美國將每月銷售超過1500輛的昂科威。

Greg Heath, managing partner at Mark ChristopherAuto Center in Ontario, Calif., said he is less worried about his customers’perception of the Envision’s Chinese origins than he is about getting more ofthe SUVs. His dealership sells GM vehicles, including Buick.

加州安大略馬克克里斯托弗汽車中心管理合夥人Greg Heath表示，比起如何獲得更多的SUV，他一點也不擔心他的客戶對昂科威的中國血統有什麼看法。他的經銷商銷售通用公司的汽車，包括別克。

“We’ll get them in droves from a big shipment,” he said. “Then it’llbe months before we get any more.”

“我們每次從一次大宗貨運中得到一批貨，”他說。“那麼每次要乾等幾個月拿不到任何貨。‘

Made-in-China cars aren’t expected to become abig part of overall U.S. car sales. Mr. Dunne said other auto makers may shipcars from China to the U.S. as production capacity there surges ahead ofdemand. China’s car factories will have the capacity to make about 40 millionlight vehicles this year, while sales are forecast to hit around 25 million,according to researcher IHS Automotive.

中國製造的汽車預計不會成爲美國汽車市場的主要組成部分。Dunne先生說，由於未來對產能有激增的需求，其它汽車製造商可能將汽車從中國運到美國。據研究公司IHS汽車調查，在今年，中國的汽車工廠將有約4000萬的輕型車輛製造能力，而銷售額預計將達到2500萬左右。

Western auto makers are likely to limit anyexports from China because it is usually more profitable to build cars wherethey’re sold, Mr. Dunne said. There are timing issues, too. U.S. Buick dealerssaid it can take as long as six months to receive a custom-made Envision, morethan double the normal wait time for a vehicle assembled in North America.

西方製造商可能限制任何從中國出口的汽車，因爲通常來說，在製造地銷售更有利可圖，Dunne先生說。這也有些時間上的問題，美國別克經銷商表示，如果需要特別定製一輛昂科威需要等6個月的時間，這比購買北美組裝的汽車要多一倍的時間。