本田爲何要重組領導層
Honda’s chief executive since 2009 is out following a series of quality and efficiency problems that called into question whether he might have been pushed the Japanese automaker too hard and fast.
本田發生一系列質量和效益問題後，公司社長伊東孝紳被質疑在領導這家日本汽車巨頭前進時是否走得過快、過猛，2009年上任的他日前公佈將卸任。The removal of Takanobu Ito from the top post was part of a broad management shakeup, in which several key executives worldwide will be replaced in senior posts. “I felt this was the right timing for us to boost efficiency and results globally,” Ito, 61, told reporters.
伊東孝紳的下課只是本田領導層重組的一部分。該公司將在全球範圍內更換數名重要高管。61歲的伊東對記者表示：“我認爲此時此刻本田應該在全球範圍內提高效率、改善業績。”
The company’s loss of momentum in the U.S., its most important market, may be its biggest headache. Accordingly, the Latest shakeup includes the departure of Tetsuo Iwamura as chairman of the American Honda Motor Company. He will remain a director of Honda – but no new chairman will replace him. Instead, Takuji Yamada, president of American Honda, will assume his duties.
美國是本田最重要的市場，在這一市場失去增長動力可能是該公司最頭疼的問題。因此，在本次管理層調整中，本田北美公司董事長巖村哲夫將卸任，但仍將是本田董事會成員。同時，本田北美公司將不再任命新的董事長，總裁山田卓司將承擔起巖村的職責。
Ito will be replaced in June by Takahiro Hachigo, 55, an engineer who currently serves in a senior post in Honda’s research and development arm in China. Ito, 61, will continue to serve as an adviser to the company.
55歲的八鄉隆弘將於6月份接替伊東孝紳，成爲本田的新社長。工程師出身的八鄉隆弘目前是本田中國公司研發部門高管。61歲的伊東將繼續擔任公司顧問。Honda shareholders and fund managers may have played a part in the change. In the past five years, Honda shares have returned 27% to holders, lagging well behind the Nikkei 225 Index, which returned 82%. Nissan shares returned 66%; Toyota shares 146%.
本田的股東和基金經理們可能在本次人事更迭中發揮了一些作用。在過去五年，本田股票的回報率已回升至27%，但仍遠低於日經225指數82%的回報率。日產和豐田股票的同期回報率分別爲66%和146%。American Honda, once a phenomenon in the U.S. that set standards for customer satisfaction, has become known for reliable, unexciting models that lack distinctiveness. Their lead in quality over models built by Detroit, meanwhile, has narrowed or disappeared as U.S. and European automakers have improved their offerings.
本田北美公司曾經在美成爲一種現象，樹立了客戶滿意度的標杆。現在，該公司卻以可靠、乏味、缺乏識別度的車型爲人所知。正當歐美汽車廠商改進產品之際，本田相對於美國本土車企的質量優勢正在縮小，甚至已經蕩然無存。Lately, Honda has taken steps to make their styling and design more expressive, as evidenced by a new Pilot crossover that will appear this summer. The new Pilot is a departure from its boxy, utilitarian predecessors. Honda also introduced a new Acura NSX supercar, another step in what the automaker is calling “The Year of Honda” in the U.S., in an attempt to highlight improvements and innovations.
最近本田開始採取措施，以便使自己的風格和設計更加打動人心，這方面的代表就是定於今年夏天推出的跨界車——新領航員（Pilot），它將一改往日四四方方、實用至上的面貌。同時，本田還將推出新款謳歌NSX超級跑車。這是該公司宣佈2015年爲“本田之年”後在美國採取的一項措施，目的是彰顯產品的改良和創新。The automaker has been under a cloud due to quality problems with its Fit hybrid subcompact, which was recalled five times as of last October. Honda also set aside hundreds of millions of dollars to cover expected damages due to mass recalls of its cars equipped with Takata Corp. air bags that have been linked to six deaths.
去年10月份以來，本田已經因爲質量問題五次召回次緊湊型飛度混合動力轎車，給該公司蒙上了一層陰影。此外，由於高田公司生產的安全氣囊已造成六人死亡，本田召回了大量配備相關氣囊的產品，併爲賠償損失預留了數億美元資金。Ito has conceded publicly that quality problems with Fit may have a connection to sales targets for the model that were too aggressive. Meanwhile, Honda lost market share last year in the U.S., as its top Japanese rivals, Toyota and Nissan gained. Like Toyota, Honda has been reorganizing operations to move more authority and responsibility from Japan to regional centers around the world.
伊東孝紳曾公開承認，飛度的質量問題可能和該車型的銷售目標過高有關。同時，去年本田的美國市場份額出現下降，而本國主要競爭對手豐田和日產的美國市場份額卻雙雙上升。和豐田一樣，本田已經調整了運營結構，將更多權力和責任從日本分散到世界各地的區域運營中心。Hachigo, described as a broadly experienced executive, jumped several levels in executive rank to his new job. He had worked on development of the Odyssey minivan and CR-V crossover.
據報道，八鄉隆弘是一位經驗豐富的高管，曾參與奧德賽微型客車和CR-V跨界車的開發工作，這次的新任命意味着他連跳幾級，升入本田最高領導層。
