美国人拥抱中国制造的SUV

Greg Shafer ended a lifelong streak of buyingU.S.-made cars when in August the 53-year-old drove out of a Columbus, Ohio,dealership behind the wheel of a Buick Envision.

Greg Shafer结束了这一生中始终购买美国造汽车的习惯，在今年八月份他53岁的时候，他开着一辆别克昂科威从俄亥俄州哥伦布市的经销商那驶出。

His $40,000 sport-utility vehicle is one of thefirst cars to be sold in America that was built in China. Mr. Shafer decidedits provenance wasn’t an issue because “once you drive it and experience allthe features, it feels far from a made-in-China car.”

他的这辆4万美元的SUV是第一辆在中国制造并在美国出售的车。Shafer先生明确的表示这辆车在哪里被制造不是问题，因为“当你驾驶它并体验他的所有功能后，会让你忘了这是一辆中国制造的汽车。”

As the U.S. auto industry’s rising reliance onMexican car factories becomes a hot topic in the 2016 presidential election,customers like Mr. Shafer are delivering a boost to General Motors Co.’smade-in-China strategy.

美国汽车工业的成长依赖于墨西哥工厂已经成为2016年总统大选的人话题。对于通用公司来说，像Shafer先生这样的客户成为了其中国制造战略的助推剂。

The No.1 U.S. auto maker in terms of salesstarted selling the Chinese-built Buick Envision in North American dealerships inlate spring, importing relatively small numbers of the vehicles to give a boostto the Buick brand. A few months into the experiment, dealers are clamoring formore because they say most of their customers don’t care where the vehicle ismade.

美国排名第一的汽车制造商于春季晚些时候在北美经销商处开始销售少量的中国制造的别克昂科威，以对别克品牌进行提升。几个月的实验后，经销商都吵着要更多的车，因为他们发现他们的客户根本不在乎车是在哪造的。

“There has been very little pushback,” said Chris Haydocy, co-ownerof the Haydocy Buick GMC in Columbus, where Mr. Shafer bought his SUV. “Mostpeople realize the world is flat now.”

“这很少有人拒绝”，Haydocy Buick GMC在哥伦布市的合伙人Chris Haydocy说，Shafer就是在他那买的车。“大部分人都认为现在的世界是扁平的”。

The made-in-China label is a new one for theU.S. auto industry and represents a hurdle due to quality concerns. Cars withbad fit-and-finish and outdated components have been displayed by indigenousChinese auto makers at U.S. auto shows for years, but have never been made availablefor sale here.

中国制造是美国汽车产业的一个新标签，这也代表了一些障碍，由于之前的一些质量问题。中国本土的制造商已经在美国将其那些劣质的和过时的零件在美国展示多年，但从来没在这儿卖过。

China’s growing reputation for making higher-endconsumer goods such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone has made the idea of Chinese-madecars more acceptable for U.S. buyers, saidMichael Dunne, a strategy andinvestment adviser at Dunne Automotive Ltd.

中国在高端消费品例如苹果手机方面增长的名声让美国消费者更容易接受中国制造汽车这一概念，Dunne汽车有限公司的战略和投资顾问Michael Dunne说。

GM’s decision to import the Envision, disclosedlate last year, riled factory workers at home. The United Auto Workers calledit a “slap in the face to U.S. taxpayers” that had financially supported GM inthe 2009 bailout of the auto industry.

通用汽车公司于去年年底披露决定进口昂科威，这激怒了那些没有工作的工人。美国汽车工人称这是“给美国纳税人的一记耳光”，通用汽车在汽车工业方面受到了国家财政支持2009次。

GM said the strategy made sense because Buick,which is one of the largest-selling brands in China, had holes in its uct lineup at a time when low gasoline prices had buyers clamoring for moreSUVs. With ample Envision capacity at a Shandong province factory, executivesdecided to carve out tens of thousands of units and send them to the U.S.

通用公司称，这个战略是非常有意义的，别克是中国销量最好的品牌，美国在一段时间内对于产品整容有着缺口，当油价下跌时，消费者会对SUV有更多的需求。随着山东省的工厂具有充足的产能，管理层决定生产数以万计的车辆并将其送往美国。

“This isthe advantage of having such a strong presence in the two biggest markets inthe world,” GM North America President Alan Batey said in an interview. “Wecouldn’t have done it [in the U.S.] if China hadn’t done that vehicle.”

“拥有世界最大的两个市场是非常有利的，”通用汽车北美总裁Alan Batey在采访中说道。“我们无法再美国这么做，如果没有在中国生产。”

Volvo Car Corp., owned by China’s Zhejiang GeelyHolding Group, last year began shipping small numbers of a version of its S60sedan to the U.S. from a plant in Chengdu.

由中国吉利控股的沃尔沃汽车公司，去年在美国开始少量出售在成都生产的S60型号汽车。

In the U.S., Buick barely ranks among the top 20auto brands by sales volume. The brand is a stalwart in China, however, wheresales are quadruple Buick’s annual U.S. volume and more than double whatChevrolet sells in China.

在美国，别克勉强排在销售榜前20名。但在中国别克是一个强有力的品牌，其销售量是美国的4倍，且2倍于雪佛兰在中国的销量。

The Envision is built by Shanghai GM, the automaker’s joint venture with SAICMotorCorp., but was designed and engineered by GM at a facility just outsideDetroit. Last week, the Envision earned the top safety rating from theInsurance Institute for Highway Safety.

昂科威由上海通用汽车有限公司制造，这是上汽集团和美国通用的合资企业，但车辆的设计是在底特律外的一个工厂完成的。下周，昂科威就会获得由美国公路安全保险协会测试得出的最高安全评级。

The Envision quickly became one of Buick’s topsellers in China as buyers moved to SUVs from sedans and vans. GM sold about150,000 Envisions last year—its first full year on the market—and is on pace totop 200,000 this year, on par with Jeep Cherokee sales in the U.S. The brand isselling more than 1,500 Envisions a month in the U.S. as GM ramps up imports.

昂科威很快就会取代轿车货车成为别克在中国最畅销的汽车。通用公司在去年卖出了15万台昂科威，这是上市后的第一年，今年计划达到20万台，这相当于切诺基在美国的销量。随着通用公司进口量的增加，在美国将每月销售超过1500辆的昂科威。

Greg Heath, managing partner at Mark ChristopherAuto Center in Ontario, Calif., said he is less worried about his customers’perception of the Envision’s Chinese origins than he is about getting more ofthe SUVs. His dealership sells GM vehicles, including Buick.

加州安大略马克克里斯托弗汽车中心管理合伙人Greg Heath表示，比起如何获得更多的SUV，他一点也不担心他的客户对昂科威的中国血统有什么看法。他的经销商销售通用公司的汽车，包括别克。

“We’ll get them in droves from a big shipment,” he said. “Then it’llbe months before we get any more.”

“我们每次从一次大宗货运中得到一批货，”他说。“那么每次要干等几个月拿不到任何货。‘

Made-in-China cars aren’t expected to become abig part of overall U.S. car sales. Mr. Dunne said other auto makers may shipcars from China to the U.S. as production capacity there surges ahead ofdemand. China’s car factories will have the capacity to make about 40 millionlight vehicles this year, while sales are forecast to hit around 25 million,according to researcher IHS Automotive.

中国制造的汽车预计不会成为美国汽车市场的主要组成部分。Dunne先生说，由于未来对产能有激增的需求，其它汽车制造商可能将汽车从中国运到美国。据研究公司IHS汽车调查，在今年，中国的汽车工厂将有约4000万的轻型车辆制造能力，而销售额预计将达到2500万左右。

Western auto makers are likely to limit anyexports from China because it is usually more profitable to build cars wherethey’re sold, Mr. Dunne said. There are timing issues, too. U.S. Buick dealerssaid it can take as long as six months to receive a custom-made Envision, morethan double the normal wait time for a vehicle assembled in North America.

西方制造商可能限制任何从中国出口的汽车，因为通常来说，在制造地销售更有利可图，Dunne先生说。这也有些时间上的问题，美国别克经销商表示，如果需要特别定制一辆昂科威需要等6个月的时间，这比购买北美组装的汽车要多一倍的时间。