沃爾沃的華麗轉身 Volvo aims high with its second premium model
Volvo’s new S90 saloon has a familiar face. The car is the second big model to come off the Swedish brand’s heavily touted $11bn vehicle platform and follows the sleek, critically acclaimed XC90 sport utility vehicle.
沃爾沃(Volvo)全新S90轎車有副“熟臉孔”。這是該瑞典公司備受吹捧、耗資110億美元打造的車輛生產平臺下線的第二款大型車，而第一款則是廣受好評、外形典雅的XC90運動型多功能車(SUV)。
The S90 has the same, T-shaped LED headlights — a nod to Thor’s hammer from Norse mythology — and a grille made of 23 rods of curved iron.
S90同樣配備了“T”字型LED大燈——取意於挪威神話中的“雷神之錘”，其格柵由23根呈現弧度的鋼欄組成。
“This is the face of Volvo,” says chief designer Thomas Ingenlath. “It’s confident, it’s proud and it is strong.”
“這就是沃爾沃的前臉，”首席設計師托馬斯英格拉特(Thomas Ingenlath)稱，“它顯得自信、驕傲、硬朗。”
To that list could be added the word independent.
這一系列的修飾語中還可以加入“獨立”一詞。
Five years after falling under the control of Chinese industrial group Zhejiang Geely Holding in a landmark Asian acquisition, Volvo feels more Scandinavian — and more successful — than ever.
5年前，中國浙江吉利控股集團(Zhejiang Geely Holding)完成了一樁在整個亞洲具有標誌性意義的收購案，將沃爾沃納入麾下。如今的沃爾沃感覺比以往更具北歐特色，也更加成功。
The company is forecasting a large rise in profits and record sales this year. It is gaining credibility as an alternative to the three German premium carmakers. The privately held company is even preparing to tap the bond market for the first time.
該公司預計今年利潤將有大幅提高，並將創下銷量紀錄。其作爲三大德系豪車品牌替代之選的聲譽日盛。這傢俬人控股公司甚至準備首次進入債券市場融資。
Now Volvo is trying to shake off its buttoned-up reputation and tell the world about its transformation.
如今，沃爾沃正試圖擺脫其內斂含蓄的名聲，向世界宣告它的轉變。
“We’re a normal company,” says Hakan Samuelsson, Volvo’s understated chief executive, in an interview at the company’s Gothenburg headquarters. The group still shares part of the site with the truckmaker of the same name that used to own Volvo.
“我們就是一家正常的公司，”行事低調的沃爾沃首席執行官哈坎薩繆爾森(Hakan Samuelsson)表示。他在哥德堡沃爾沃總部接受採訪，該公司仍然與曾經的東家——同名的卡車製造商，共用部分辦公地點。
Mr Samuelsson’s predecessors had plenty of defending to do. Volvo, aS part of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group between 1999 and 2010, suffered stagnating sales. It was not helped by uninspired products that were — Volvo executives now say — compromised by having to share parts, styles and skeletons with its US parent.
薩繆爾森的前任們做過很多自我辯護的事。1999年至2010年期間，作爲福特(Ford)旗下Premier Automotive Group(PAG)的子公司，沃爾沃經歷了銷量停滯不前的時期。了無新意的產品更是於事無補。沃爾沃高層如今稱，當時生產的車型不得不與其美國母公司的其他車型共用零件和整體架構，風格如出一轍。
“If this was a hospital, the patient would have been declared dead,” says one Volvo manager of the then lossmaking company.
“如果有汽車醫院的話，那麼當時沃爾沃這個病人就已經被宣佈死亡了，”一位經理談到當時虧損的沃爾沃時說道。
Under Chinese ownership, Volvo is getting on to the shopping list of drivers who normally prefer Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The XC90 put Volvo into a higher price category and has had consumer magazines agog with its sleek interior, in-car technology and advanced safety features.
在吉利控股下的沃爾沃逐漸進入通常偏愛奧迪(Audi)、寶馬(BMW)和奔馳(Mercedes-Benz)的車主的選購清單。XC90提升了沃爾沃的產品價位，消費者雜誌大談該車型時尚的內飾、車載技術和先性的安全性能。
“[Geely] bought Volvo because they assumed Volvo deserved a better future,” says Mr Samuelsson. “They wanted to release the tiger. And they are seeing that happening now, in steps.”
“（吉利）收購沃爾沃，是因爲他們認爲沃爾沃值得擁有更好的未來，”薩繆爾森稱，“他們想放出這隻猛虎。現在，他們正在逐步看到這一切成爲現實。”
The company’s ambition draws comparisons with another resurgent premium carmaker — Jaguar Land Rover of the UK — which was also formerly part of the Ford stable and has since fallen into Asian possession.
沃爾沃的雄心可與另一個東山再起的豪車品牌——英國的捷豹路虎(Jaguar Land Rover)作比。捷豹路虎以前也是福特旗下的品牌，後來被亞洲企業收購。
So far, JLR’s profitability has left Volvo in the dust. The British-based group made 2.6bn in pre-tax profit in its last financial year — twice what Tata Motors paid Ford to acquire the two UK brands in 2008.
目前爲止，捷豹路虎的盈利能力令沃爾沃望塵莫及。上一財年，這家總部在英國的集團實現了26億英鎊稅前利潤——比2008年塔塔汽車(Tata Motors)從福特手中收購這兩個英國品牌時支付的代價高出一倍。
Volvo made only $260m in operating profits last year, despite selling an almost identical number of cars — about 460,000.
去年，儘管沃爾沃賣出了幾乎與捷豹路虎相同數量的汽車——約46萬輛，但其營業利潤僅爲2.6億美元。
Operating margins at Volvo are also thin — 2.2 per cent in the first half of this year. JLR, by contrast, makes operating margins close to 10 per cent, having built on the success of products conceived during the Ford era, such as the Range Rover Evoque.
沃爾沃的營業利潤率也很低——今年上半年爲2.2%。相比之下，捷豹路虎的營業利潤率接近10%，這建立在未被收購前構想的多款車型——如路虎攬勝極光(Range Rover Evoque)——大獲成功的基礎上。
At Volvo, “we based our turnround exactly on a new platform, new vehicles, not just new-style vehicles,” says Mr Samuelsson. “I don’t think you can say that Jaguar has that same process. So that, of course, takes a longer time.”
在沃爾沃，“我們的復興完全基於新平臺、新車型，而不僅僅是同車型的新款，”薩繆爾森稱，“我想你不能說路虎也經歷了一樣的過程。所以，這當然會導致我們需要更多時間。”
Volvo created Spa (scaleable product architecture), the first of two completely new modular building systems, for large cars. It has moved to innovative, four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines that will power the majority of its future cars. And by 2019, it will have a line-up of nine new or reworked vehicles: three sizes in three different styles.
沃爾沃建設了製造大型車的SPA平臺(scaleable product architecture，可擴展車體架構)，這是兩個全新的模塊化生產體系中的第一個。該公司已開始採用創新性的、四缸汽油或柴油發動機，未來其大多數車型將依靠這類引擎提供動力。到2019年，它將擁有9款全新或改進版車型的產品陣容，在3種不同風格的車型中分別有3種不同的規格。
Volvo is now moving into phase two of its turnround: capitalising on the investments, launching the new products, and sustaining a higher price point.
沃爾沃如今正步入其復興計劃的第二階段：利用投資、推出新產品、維持較高價位。
Attention now turns to the second, smaller toolkit: CMA, which stands for compact modular architecture and is the big test of Volvo’s relationship with its Chinese paymasters.
現在把目光轉向第二個較小的生產平臺：緊湊型模塊化架構CMA，它將給沃爾沃與其中國東家的關係帶來重大考驗。
Geely Auto, the Hangzhou-based volume carmaker also owned by Volvo’s parent, is working with Volvo to create midsize cars in a variety of shapes — hatchbacks, sedans and small SUVs. The platform is an attempt to find cost savings and make acceptable margins on small cars.
總部位於杭州的吉利汽車(Geely Auto)也是沃爾沃母公司旗下的公司。吉利汽車正在與沃爾沃共同研發各種車型——掀背車、轎車和小型SUV——的中級車。CMA平臺是在小型車領域尋找成本節省空間、創造合意的利潤率的一次嘗試。
It means upmarket Volvo must share parts with firmly mass-market Geely. That task has scuppered a high-profile former alliance with the DaimlerChrysler. “It’s very difficult to develop platforms and architectures if the brands are positioned very differently,” says Martin , associate professor at Stockholm School of Economics.
這意味着，高端品牌沃爾沃必須與堅定地走大衆市場路線的吉利共享零件。這樣的任務破壞了此前沃爾沃與戴姆勒克萊斯勒(DaimlerChrysler)之間備受矚目的合作。“如果不同品牌的定位截然不同，很難共同研發平臺和架構，”斯德哥爾摩經濟學院(Stockholm School of Economics)的副教授馬丁斯科爾(Martin )。
But the collaboration — enshrined in China Euro Vehicle Technology, a sister company to Volvo and Geely Auto — gives Volvo greater volumes for its engines. Geely in return gets European design and perhaps the chance to become the first Chinese carmaker to achieve global renown.
但是，這次合作——雙方成立了吉利汽車歐洲研發中心（China Euro Vehicle Technology，簡稱CEVT）——使沃爾沃可以生產更多發動機。吉利得到的回報是歐洲的設計，或許還有機會成爲第一家享譽國際的中國汽車製造商。
There is still some talk around Gothenburg and among suppliers of conflict between the Chinese and Swedish participants in and around CEVT.
在哥德堡一帶以及供貨商中間，仍然流傳着CEVT的中方和瑞方人員存在摩擦的說法。
“Of course it has been challenging — God, I can tell you, there are days I wonder, ‘How the hell should we fix this?’,” says Mats Fagerhag, the former R&D chief at Saab who runs CEVT.
“這當然很有挑戰性——天啊，我可以告訴你，有時我會想，‘我們到底該怎麼解決？’”CEVT的負責人方浩瀚(Mats Fagerhag)稱。他曾主管薩博(Saab)研發部門。
But he says the focused nature of the collaboration means Volvo and Geely have created a “smarter” way of integrating. “Somehow you are forced: let’s solve those cultural issues here quickly here because we have an important task to do.”
但是他稱，此次合作目標明確，意味着沃爾沃和吉利創造了一種“較聰明的”融合方式。“某種程度上你是被逼的：讓我們迅速解決這些文化問題，因爲我們還有重要的任務要去完成。”
