平行進口商困擾在華跨國車企

Western carmakers are facing competition in China from the sale of their own imported vehicles from the US, as “parallel imports” provide a new challenge in the world’s largest auto market.

西方汽車製造商在中國正面臨進口自美國的它們自己所產的汽車的競爭，“平行進口”在全球最大汽車市場帶來新的挑戰。

New rules from Shanghai’s fledgling free trade zone, issued last week, formally legalise the sale of cars that manufacturers originally intended to sell in the US and other markets — allowing buyers to receive discounts of about 20 per cent.

成立不久的上海自貿區上週公佈新的規定，正式使在華銷售製造商原本打算在美國及其他市場售賣的汽車合法化，使買家可以享受約20%的折扣。

Last year, Chinese competition regulators forced many foreign carmakers to lower the cost of their vehicles, spare parts and services during a probe of allegedly anti-competitive behaviour. Chinese car dealers have also demanded greater financial support from their suppliers.

去年，中國競爭監管機構在針對涉嫌壟斷行爲的調查中，迫使許多外國汽車製造商降低汽車、零配件和服務成本。中國汽車經銷商也要求供應商給予更多財務上的支持。

Now the emergence of parallel import markets is putting even greater price pressure on multinational carmakers, especially premium European brands.

現在，平行進口市場的出現正爲跨國汽車製造商帶來更大的價格壓力，尤其是高端的歐洲品牌。

Large price differentials for brands sold via manufacturers’ official dealer networks in the US and China create an arbitrage opportunity across the Pacific. Middlemen are buying cars in the US and shipping them to unauthorised dealers in China in increasing numbers.

通過製造商在美國和中國的官方經銷商網絡銷售的同一品牌的汽車的售價差別巨大，在太平洋兩岸之間製造了一個套利機會。越來越多的中間商在美國購買汽車，然後將其發運至未經授權的中國經銷商。

At China’s largest market for parallel imports, in the port city of Tianjin, an Audi Q7 sport utility vehicle imported from the US was on sale last week for Rmb660,000 ($106,000) — 20 per cent cheaper than the Rmb828,000 charged by the German manufacturer’s authorised China dealerships. In the US, Audi’s suggested retail prices for the Q7 start at just $48,300, or Rmb299,000.

在中國最大的平行進口汽車市場——港口城市天津，一輛從美國進口的奧迪(Audi) Q7運動型多功能車(SUV)上週的售價是66萬元人民幣（合10.6萬美元），比這家德國製造商授權的中國經銷商82.8萬元人民幣的售價便宜20%。在美國，奧迪Q7的建議零售價起步僅爲4.83萬美元，即29.9萬元人民幣。

Carmakers are fighting back against this latest threat to their largest and most profitable market, prohibiting their US dealers from selling cars to people who they suspect intend to export the vehicles to China. But once arbitrageurs have obtained a car in the US, it is legal for them to ship it abroad.

汽車製造商正在他們最大、利潤最豐厚的市場回擊這個最新威脅，禁止各自的美國經銷商把車賣給那些他們懷疑打算向中國出口汽車的人。但是如果套利者在美國購得一輛汽車，他們將車運往國外是合法的。

“The [carmakers] have lost the battle on the Chinese side,” said Max Warburton, an analyst at Bernstein Research. “On the US side they are throwing everything they can think of at it.”

伯恩斯坦研究公司(Bernstein Research)分析師馬克斯•沃伯頓(Max Warburton)說：“（製造商）在中國已敗下陣來。在美國，他們正想盡一切辦法來應對。”