吉利將在歐洲推出新品牌汽車
Geely is launching a mass-market car in Europe, becoming the first Chinese automaker to push into the region in its own right.
吉利(Geely)準備在歐洲推出一款大衆市場汽車，成爲首家憑藉自身力量進軍歐洲的中國汽車製造商。
The group, which owns Volvo Cars and the London Taxi Company, will today unveil Lynk & Co, which aims to compete directly with Volkswagen, the market leader in Europe, and appeal to younger buyers.
旗下擁有沃爾沃汽車(Volvo Cars)和倫敦出租車公司(London Taxi Company)的吉利集團，將於今日推出Lynk & Co品牌汽車，旨在與歐洲市場領導者大衆(Volkswagen)展開直接競爭，並吸引年輕買家。
A Lynk-branded SUV will launch in China next year and be rolled out to Europe by the end of 2018, followed by smaller cars such as a saloon and a hatchback.
Lynk品牌的SUV將於明年在中國發售，並將在2018年底之前在歐洲推出，隨後還將推出轎車、掀背車等更小型的汽車。
The move is expected to spur other Chinese companies to push into Europe to offset slowing growth at home.
預計此舉將刺激其他中國企業進軍歐洲，以補償國內汽車銷量增長的放緩。
International carmakers that want to do business in China must partner with local companies under state law. This has given Chinese manufacturers access to western technology, design and manufacturing practices.
中國法律規定，想要在中國經營的跨國汽車製造商必須與當地企業成立合資公司。這使得中國製造商可以獲得西方的技術、設計和製造方法。
“There is no question that other [Chinese carmakers] will follow,” said Michael Dunne, an expert on the Chinese motor industry. “Their home market’s phase as a cash cow has come to an end, and the quality of Chinese-branded vehicles is now comparable with international brands.”
“毫無疑問，其他（中國汽車製造商）將緊隨其後，”研究中國汽車工業的專家鄧凱(Michael Dunne)說，“國內市場作爲搖錢樹的階段已經結束，中國品牌汽車的品質如今可以與國際品牌媲美。”
Their aim, he said, was to blend the best aspects of low-cost manufacturing with European design and quality. “If they get it right, there’s plenty of space to take on European makers with heavy overheads.”
他表示，中國車企的目標是將低成本製造業的優勢與歐洲的設計和品質結合起來。“如果做得好的話，將有足夠空間與經營成本高昂的歐洲製造商進行較量。”
The new marque, which was designed in Sweden at Geely’s China Europe vehicle technology centre, will have a higher price tag than Geely cars but lower than Volvo. It aims to compete with VW in Europe.
該款新品牌汽車由吉利在瑞典的歐洲汽車技術中心設計，售價將高於吉利汽車，但低於沃爾沃。其目標是與大衆汽車在歐洲競爭。
“We were told it should feel European, specifically northern European,” said Peter Horbury, Geely’s design director.
吉利設計總監彼得.霍伯裏(Peter Horbury)稱：“我們接到的指示是，這款車應具有歐洲風格，特別是北歐風格。”
Breaking into Europe would help Geely “become a global automotive company”, said An Conghui, group president. “People will ask why the world needs another car brand. That is like asking why you need Apple when you have Motorola. To build a brand takes time, but it will not take as much time to build the brand as in the past.”
打入歐洲將幫助吉利“成爲一家全球汽車公司”，吉利集團總裁安聰慧表示，“人們會問，爲什麼這個世界需要一個新的汽車品牌。這就像在問，當你手裏有摩托羅拉(Motorola)時爲什麼還需要蘋果(Apple)。打造一個品牌需要時間，但不會像過去那麼久。”
The car will be manufactured in China “but it’s entirely possible that we will move to Europe to manufacture the cars in the future”, Mr An added.
這款車將在中國製造，“但未來遷至歐洲製造也是完全有可能的，”安聰慧補充道。
Geely will not use a traditional dealer network or advertising to promote the new car. It will focus on social media to reach younger drivers.
吉利將不會利用傳統經銷商網絡或廣告來推銷該車。它將通過聚焦社交媒體來影響年輕車手。
The Lynk 01 is hailed as the “most connected car”, in an effort to woo buyers who are more concerned with access to streaming services than with traditional car performance metrics such as torque or horsepower.
Lynk 01車型被譽爲“最互聯的汽車”，旨在吸引相對扭矩或動力等傳統汽車性能指標更關心獲得流媒體服務的買家。
It will also roll out car-sharing schemes linked to the Lynk brand.
吉利還將推出與Lynk品牌相關的汽車共享計劃。
