拯救捷豹路虎 汽車品牌最成功的跨國收購
2008年，當捷豹和路虎被轉(zhuǎn)讓給印度塔塔集團時，這兩大品牌的前景還非常不明朗。彼時，全球經(jīng)濟危機剛剛爆發(fā)，還沒有明確的跡象表明豪華車型的銷量何時才能再度恢復(fù)增長。
Any undue fretting turns out to have beenmisplaced. The two quintessentially Britishautomakers, sold to Tata by Ford Motor F 0.40% , delivered a record 462,678 vehicles globallyin 2014, up from 425,000 a year earlier, with a forecast to break half a million this year. Theautomaker opened a manufacturing plant last year, its fifth worldwide, with ambitions to reach750,000 units sold annually by the end of the decade and a million eventually.
現(xiàn)在看來，當時的擔心完全是不必要的。路虎和捷豹都是典型的英國汽車品牌，被福特賣給塔塔后，它們的全球銷量在2013年達到425,000臺，2014年更是達到了創(chuàng)紀錄的462,678臺，今年甚至有望突破50萬臺。去年塔塔集團又開設(shè)了它在全球的第五家制造廠。這家雄心勃勃的公司希望，到2020年，捷豹和路虎的銷量能夠達到75萬臺，最終沖破百萬大關(guān)。
Tata’s vision could be helped by two initiatives announced earlier this month at the NorthAmerican International Auto Show in Detroit: diesel engine availability for most models andJaguar’s first crossover, F-Pace.
為了實現(xiàn)這個愿景，塔塔在2015底特律車展上宣布了兩項計劃：一是為旗下大多數(shù)車型推出柴油版，二是推出捷豹的首款跨界車型F-Pace。
Diesel engines seem ideal for Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles because they’re more fuel-efficient than gasoline engines, a key consideration as automakers strive to meet morestringent efficiency rules worldwide. Diesel’s image among luxury buyers has improved inrecent years because the latest versions of the engine are virtually free of smoke, odor andclatter, while providing particularly rapid acceleration from a dead stop. All of the luxurybrands have been offering diesel, so why not Jaguar Land Rover?
對于捷豹和路虎的車型來說，柴油發(fā)動機似乎是個理想的選擇，因為柴油版的燃油經(jīng)濟性要優(yōu)于汽油引擎，隨著全球各國對能耗標準卡得越來越嚴，此舉是非常必要的。近幾年，柴油引擎在豪車陣營的形象已有所好轉(zhuǎn)，因為最新的柴油發(fā)動機基本上避免了煙霧、氣味和噪聲等短板，同時還能提供非常理想的加速能力。所有的豪車品牌都開始提供柴油版，捷豹和路虎肯定也不愿落于人后。
Andy Goss, worldwide head of sales, said in Detroit this month the brands “have to challengethe established order the way Audi had to do with BMW and Mercedes not so long ago. We arecreating clear differentiation for people to buy Jaguar over one of the German brands. TheGermans tend to look at each other rather than anyone else.”
捷豹路虎全球運營總監(jiān)安迪o高斯在底特律表示，捷豹路虎“必須挑戰(zhàn)奧迪、寶馬和奔馳建立的現(xiàn)有秩序。我們正在為人們建立明顯的差異化選擇，吸引他們購買捷豹而不是哪個德系品牌。這幾個德系品牌通常只把對方當作競爭對手，并不太重視其他品牌。”
What seems clear is that Tata has allowed Jaguar and Land Rover to maintain their Britishidentity while providing prodigious capital to renew their model lineups, invest in newtechnology such as diesel engines and market aggressively to luxury shoppers. For anyonewith a feel for history, the arrangement has an ironic aspect since India was a colony ofGreat Britain until it gained its independence in 1947. More than a few British aristocrats pliedIndian roads in their Jaguars and Land Rovers.
目前可以看出，塔塔允許捷豹和路虎保留了它們的英式風格，同時提供大量資本來革新兩大品牌的車型組合。另外，塔塔還進行了柴油發(fā)動機等技術(shù)投資，并在市場營銷方面不惜血本。對于任何一個對歷史有一點了解的人，這一幕恐怕都不乏一絲諷刺感，因為印度直到1947年之前還是英國的殖民地，很多英國貴族一度開著他們的捷豹和路虎疾馳在印度的大小公路上，現(xiàn)在卻要靠印度來拯救這兩個歷史悠久的英國品牌。
In early 2016, Jaguar’s first “performance crossover” – the aluminum-bodied F-Pace – isscheduled to debut. The event should bring cheer to the hearts of U.S. franchise dealersespecially, since U.S. sales fell 7% to 15,773 units last year. Crossovers are the hottestvehicle segment worldwide and have proliferated among the luxury brands as well.
作為捷豹的首款“性能跨界車型”，鋁合金車身的F-Pace預(yù)計將于2016年正式亮相。該車的上市應(yīng)該會令美國的捷豹路虎經(jīng)銷商感到興奮，因為去年捷豹路虎在美銷量下跌了7%，只賣出15,773臺。目前在全球范圍內(nèi)，跨界車都是最受市場歡迎的車型，在豪車板塊也一樣受到追捧。
Jaguar and Land Rover’s new diesels may have arrived at an odd moment in the U.S. since theprice of gasoline has been plummeting while diesel fuel is becoming relatively more expensive.But energy prices have a way of confounding consumers just when they think they’ve figuredout which way prices are moving and how to adjust.
捷豹和路虎的最新柴油車型登陸美國的時機則有些尷尬，因為美國的汽油油價正在暴跌，相比之下，柴油車型的燃油成本反而顯得不劃算。不過能源價格總有辦法迷惑消費者，就在他們以為自己已經(jīng)了解價格走勢以及怎樣適應(yīng)后，它說不定又會殺你個回馬槍。
Tata Motors no doubt has been watching and learning as it invests in its estimable Britishbrands. How long before Tata uses that knowledge to advance under its own name and ethnicidentity to the front ranks of global automakers?
在投資建設(shè)這兩個英國豪車品牌的同時，塔塔無疑也在不斷觀察和學(xué)習(xí)。不知還要多久，塔塔就會利用這種知識打造具有其民族特征的自有品牌，最終躋身全球汽車廠商的“第一梯隊”?(財富中文網(wǎng))
