????歐洲汽車制造商們每個(gè)月都在祈禱，希望上帝能降下圣諭，讓史上最糟糕的市場(chǎng)開始好轉(zhuǎn)起來(lái)。但今年5月，這樣的奢望再次成空，五月份的汽車銷量創(chuàng)下自1993年以來(lái)同期的歷史新低。新汽車上牌量同比下降了5.9%，減少至104萬(wàn)輛。

????更糟糕的是，分析師們認(rèn)為，由于消費(fèi)者信心受挫，歐洲市場(chǎng)的狀況在很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間內(nèi)都不會(huì)好轉(zhuǎn)。密歇根州薩斯菲爾德的商業(yè)咨詢公司Alix Partners最近的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查報(bào)告稱，歐洲大陸糟糕的汽車銷售情況可能將一直持續(xù)到2019年。

????政治與經(jīng)濟(jì)因素對(duì)汽車行業(yè)造成了巨大影響，因?yàn)槠囆枨罅科＼浧仁构S產(chǎn)能利用率下降到了半個(gè)世紀(jì)以來(lái)的歷史最低點(diǎn)。政府投入數(shù)十億激勵(lì)資金，以支撐消費(fèi)，如今卻不得不面對(duì)工廠閑置所導(dǎo)致的工人失業(yè)問(wèn)題。

????尤其是標(biāo)致雪鐵龍集團(tuán)（PSA Peugeot）、菲亞特（Fiat）、雷諾汽車（Renault）、歐寶【Opel，已被通用汽車公司（General Motors）收購(gòu)】和福特（Ford）等車企，以及歐洲南部的工廠，均遭到重創(chuàng)。寶馬（BMW）、戴姆勒（Daimler）和大眾汽車（Volkswagen）等汽車制造商在新興市場(chǎng)順風(fēng)順?biāo)抑饕鍪鄹邫n車，到目前為止避免了最糟糕的經(jīng)濟(jì)困境。

????戴姆勒汽車公司CEO蔡澈正努力展現(xiàn)公司（梅賽德斯-奔馳汽車的制造商）最好的一面。本周，他在接受《金融時(shí)報(bào)》（Financial Times）采訪時(shí)說(shuō)：“我們感覺(jué)到了增長(zhǎng)的動(dòng)力，它們來(lái)自我們的（新）產(chǎn)品。上個(gè)月，盡管市場(chǎng)環(huán)境不妙，我們實(shí)現(xiàn)了大幅正增長(zhǎng)?！?/p>

????歐洲一片蕭條，唯一逆勢(shì)而行的是英國(guó)，英國(guó)5月汽車銷量增加了11%。之所以會(huì)出現(xiàn)這種狀況是因?yàn)橛?guó)退出了歐洲統(tǒng)一貨幣，因此，它并沒(méi)有受到歐洲大陸經(jīng)濟(jì)困境太多牽連。

????到底是什么削弱了消費(fèi)者的信心？又該如何提振消費(fèi)者的信心？與這些問(wèn)題有關(guān)的理論層出不窮。其中一個(gè)因素是今年秋天的德國(guó)大選。德國(guó)總理安吉拉?默克爾尋求第三次連任，而其競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手關(guān)注的重點(diǎn)是“財(cái)富分配不均”。如果德國(guó)出現(xiàn)一個(gè)左傾政府，同時(shí)提高稅收，德國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)預(yù)計(jì)將陷入停滯。

????德國(guó)被認(rèn)為是歐洲經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)的引擎，對(duì)該國(guó)經(jīng)濟(jì)前景的任何質(zhì)疑都會(huì)波及到其他鄰國(guó)，尤其是德國(guó)南部財(cái)政問(wèn)題最為嚴(yán)重的國(guó)家。

????歐洲制造業(yè)因刻板僵化而受到詬病。汽車制造商們抱怨，政府和歐盟的政策束縛了他們的手腳。當(dāng)需求下降時(shí)，他們沒(méi)有充分的機(jī)會(huì)關(guān)閉工廠，裁撤工人或減少產(chǎn)量。因此，通用汽車和標(biāo)致雪鐵龍開始尋求合作，以求削減成本和降低風(fēng)險(xiǎn)就沒(méi)什么好奇怪的了。

????福特汽車首席執(zhí)行官艾倫?穆拉利本周在印度表示，福特汽車將加大印度向歐洲的汽車出口。福特汽車公司計(jì)劃今年晚些時(shí)候在印度欽奈的一家工廠生產(chǎn)翼博（EcoSport）緊湊型跨界車。

????除了疲軟的經(jīng)濟(jì)需求外，汽車制造商還要面對(duì)年輕消費(fèi)者品味的變化。越來(lái)越多的年輕人不再將汽車視為身份的象征。于是，是否擁有一流的信息娛樂(lè)系統(tǒng)，對(duì)于汽車銷售變得越來(lái)越重要，它的重要性甚至不亞于汽車的功率和燃油經(jīng)濟(jì)性等傳統(tǒng)指標(biāo)。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：劉進(jìn)龍/汪浩

????European automakers are keeping fingers crossed every month for a ray of sunshine that tells them the worst market in memory might be ready to improve. It didn't happen again in May, when sales were lower than in any May since 1993. Registrations dropped 5.9% year over year to 1.04 million.

????Worse still, analysts are saying things won't be getting better in Europe for a long time due to shattered consumer confidence. Alix Partners of Southfield, Mich. reports in a new study that car buying on the continent might not improve until 2019.

????The political and economic repercussions are immense for the industry because weak demand for vehicles has pushed factory capacity utilization to lows not seen for more than half a century. Governments have spent billions in incentives to prop up buying and now must contend with layoffs in connection with idle factories.

????PSA Peugeot, Fiat, Renault, Opel -- owned by General Motors (GM) -- and Ford (F) have been especially hard hit, along with plants in southern Europe. Automakers like BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen -- prosperous in global emerging markets and selling to premium buyers -- have so far avoided the worst financial pain.

????Dieter Zetsche, Daimler CEO, tried to put the best possible face on the position of his company, which makes Mercedes-Benz vehicles. He told the Financial Times this week that "we are feeling growth?impulses, but they are coming from our (new) products. In the last months we've had significant positive growth rates in difficult markets."

????The only country running counter to Europe's trend is the United Kingdom, where auto sales rose 11% in May. The U.K. may be faring better because, having opted out of Europe's common currency, it is not as tied to the continent's economic troubles.

????Theories abound as to what might be holding consumer confidence back and what might have to happen for the public to cheer up. One is that the German election this fall, in which Angela Merkel is seeking a third term as chancellor, pits her against a candidate that is talking about "wealth inequality." In the event of a left-leaning government and higher taxes, the expectation is that economic growth might be held back.

????Because Germany is considered to be the financial growth engine for Europe, any doubts about that country's economic future spill over onto neighbors, especially countries to the south, wherefiscal woes have been toughest.

????Europe is notorious for its rigidity in manufacturing. Automakers complain that governments and European Union rules have tied their hands, giving them insufficient opportunity to close plants, lay off workers, or cut production when demand falls. Not surprisingly, some automakers such as GM and Peugeot Citroen are collaborating to cut costs and lower risk.

????Alan Mulally, Ford's chief executive, said this week in India that Ford will be exporting more vigorously from that country to Europe. Ford plans to export its EcoSport small crossover from a plant in Chennai later this year.

????On top of the weak economic demand, automakers are battling changing tastes among young consumers, who more and more no longer regard cars as status symbols. That's one reason why top-notch infotainment systems are becoming more important to the selling of vehicles, perhaps as much as horsepower and fuel economy.