領土爭端衝擊日本在華汽車銷售
Some Japanese auto makers bucked an otherwise positive August for auto sales in China, and an industry group executive cited the potential ripple effects from a territorial dispute over islands in the East China Sea.
在8月中國汽車銷售整體看好的情況下，一些日本汽車廠商卻遭遇銷售下滑。一位行業組織管理人士將此歸因於東中國海(East China Sea，中國稱東海)領土爭端產生的連帶影響。Sharp discounts ensured that auto sales in China grew at their fastest pace in five months in August, and a domestic industry group said it expects sales in the world's largest car market to remain brisk in the final months of this year.
大幅度的打折促銷推動8月中國汽車銷量增幅創下五個月來的最高水平，一箇中國國內行業組織說，預計今年最後幾個月中國汽車市場將保持快速增長勢頭。中國目前是全球最大的汽車市場。But some Japanese car makers fared poorly. Mazda Motor Corp.'s sales in China fell 6% from a year earlier to 16,539 vehicles in August, while Toyota Motor Corp. and its Chinese partners sold about 75,300 cars last month, down 15% from a year earlier.
不過，一些日本汽車廠商卻銷售慘淡。8月馬自達(Mazda Motor Corp.)在華銷量降至16,539輛，同比下滑6%。豐田汽車(Toyota Motor Corp.)及其中國合資夥伴上個月汽車銷量約爲75,300輛，同比下滑15%。
At a press conference on Monday, Dong Yang, secretary general of the state-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, linked slowing sales of Japanese cars to the countries' growing diplomatic tussle over islands in the East China Sea, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.
在週一舉行的新聞發佈會上，政府支持的中國汽車工業協會(China Association of Automobile Manufacturers)的祕書長董揚將日本汽車銷售放緩歸因於中日兩國圍繞東海爭議島嶼日益加劇的外交爭端。爭議島嶼在日本被稱爲“尖閣列島”(Senkaku)，在中國被稱爲“釣魚島”(Diaoyu)。'I don't want to comment much but I guess Japanese brands sales slowed in August mostly due to the Diaoyu issue,' Mr. Dong said.
董揚說：我不想做過多評論，但我猜測日本品牌汽車8月份在華銷量放緩的主要原因是釣魚島問題。In a move likely to heighten tensions between the Asian neighbors, the Japanese government on Monday said it had decided to nationalize the group of islands.
日本政府週一說，已經決定將這些島嶼國有化。此舉可能令中日這兩個亞洲鄰國之間的關係更加緊張。It's unclear how much direct impact the territorial dispute has had on the China sales of Japan's auto makers. Honda Motor Co. HMC -0.33% saw sales rose 15% in August from a year ago. Toyota and others couldn't be reached on Monday for comment.
領土爭端對日本汽車廠商在華銷量的直接影響究竟有多大，目前還不得而知。8月本田汽車(Honda Motor Co.)銷量同比上升15%。記者週一無法聯繫到豐田和其他廠商置評。Sales of Japan's Nissan Motor Co. witnessed a slowdown after the territorial dispute between Japan and China in the East China Sea started in mid August, but the situation has been improving lately, Kimiyasu Nakamura, the president of Dongfeng Nissan, Nissan's China joint venture, said on Saturday. Nissan said it sold 95,200 cars in China in August, which is up 0.6% from a year earlier but down from July's 98,100 sales.
日本日產汽車(Nissan Motor Co.)在華合資公司東風日產(Dongfeng Nissan)的總裁中村公泰(Kimiyasu Nakamura)上週六說，8月中旬中日在東海爆發領土爭端後，日產汽車的銷量放緩，但最近情況有所好轉。日產說，8月該公司在華汽車銷量爲95,200輛，同比增長0.6%，但低於7月的98,100輛。China's auto market continues to struggle with high inventories and cutthroat price competition after years of surging output, while a slowdown in the domestic economy and higher oil prices have also taken their toll. The discounts auto makers are offering poses a threat to their profit margins, as they slash prices to make sure they hit their annual sales targets.
經過了多年的大幅增產後，中國汽車市場繼續苦苦掙扎於高庫存和激烈的價格競爭之中，同時國內經濟增長放緩和油價上漲也給汽車銷售帶來了衝擊。在汽車廠商大幅降價以確保實現年度銷售目標之際，廠商提供的折扣對利潤率構成威脅。The association said Monday that car makers sold 1.22 million passenger vehicles in August, up 11% from a year earlier and 9% from July, marking the biggest monthly rise since the 15% month-on-month increase in March.
中國汽車工業協會週一說，8月乘用車銷量爲122萬輛，同比增長11%，環比增長9%，是3月實現環比增長15%以來的最大月度環比增幅。
