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After more than a hundred years in control of one of Europe’s great industrial groups, it was no wonder that the Peugeot family became divided over the deal that would take their flagship business out of their hands.
在掌控欧洲工业巨头——标致（Peugeot）100多年后，标致家族将因为新近的一笔交易，失去对这家旗舰企业的控制权。家族内部对这笔交易存在分歧，在所难免。
Robert Peugeot, who runs the family holding company, and Philippe Varin, the carmaker’s chief executive, had agreed that a deal with Chinese carmaker Dongfeng Motor and the French government – announced on Wednesday – was essential.
管理该家族控股公司的罗贝尔•标致(Robert Peugeot)和标致首席执行官菲利普•瓦兰(Philippe Varin)都认为，周三宣布的与中国汽车制造商东风汽车(Dongfeng Motor)和法国政府达成的交易，对标致而言至关重要。
Not only would the 3bn capital injection put the group on a firmer footing for investing in Europe, where car sales have been at their worst for 20 years, but it would also enable Peugeot to grow its footprint in Asia.
30亿欧元的注资，不仅能让标致在欧洲投资时底气更足，还能提升公司在亚洲的影响力。欧洲汽车市场上的销量，正处于20年来的最差水平。
Dongfeng had let it be known that it might be willing to help out at the start of 2013. Preliminary discussions with Dongfeng and the French state began in July, and a plan of action was hatched.
2013年初，东风即放出消息，表示或愿出手相助。标致、东风和法国政府从去年7月开始三方间的初步磋商，之后拟定了行动计划。
Code names were even chosen, based on famous artists. In secret documents, the Peugeot family was “Picasso”, Dongfeng was “Degas”, General Motors, which until recently owned a small stake in Peugeot, was “Gauguin” and the French state was “Fragonard”.
各方甚至各自选取了著名艺术家的名字作为代号。在秘密文件中，标致家族被称为“毕加索”(Picasso)，东风被称为“德加”(Degas)，直到最近一直持有标致少量股权的通用汽车(General Motors)被称为“高更”(Gauguin)，法国政府则是“弗拉贡纳尔”(Fragonard)。
But Thierry Peugeot, set to lose the chairmanship and weighed down by a sense of responsibility over the legacy of a mighty French dynasty, had other ideas. There were other ways to fend off disaster, he felt.
然而，即将失去董事会主席职务的蒂埃里•标致(Thierry Peugeot)，却对这笔交易却有不同感受。对这个曾代表了法兰西工业荣光的家族企业，他怀有强烈的使命感。他相信，还有其他方法挽救这个企业。
He argued that the family, which survived two world wars and multiple financial crises at the helm, was giving away too much – and, while the company needed a new direction, it could raise enough money on the markets without the Chinese.
他认为，曾带领这家造车企业度过两次世界大战、数度金融危机的标致家庭，在这笔交易中让步太多。他认为，尽管标致需要新的方向，但仍可以在没有中国企业介入的情况下，从市场筹集足够多资金。
Last month, he penned a letter to his brother Robert, which later appeared in the press, saying that the deal was a “bad idea” and adding: “I am worried about the strategy of withdrawal from Peugeot that you seem to want to carry out.”
上月，他致信兄弟罗贝尔（这封信后来被媒体曝光）称，这笔交易是个“坏主意”，还说：“我对你似乎执意要退出标致的战略感到担心。”
He is not the only one with reservations, which will see the French state and Dongfeng pay 800m for 14 per cent each of Peugeot, Europe’s second-largest carmaker by sales, alongside a deeper industrial partnership with the Chinese group.
他并非唯一对这笔交易持保留意见的人。根据该交易，法国政府和东风将分别出资8亿欧元，各购入标致14%的股权。此外，标致还将与东风展开更深入的行业合作。以汽车销量计，标致是欧洲第二大汽车制造商。
The three main shareholders – Dongfeng, Paris and the family – have committed to not increasing their stakes above 14 per cent for the next 10 years, Mr Varin told the Financial Times in an interview on Wednesday.
瓦兰周三在接受英国《金融时报》采访时表示，3个主要股东——东风、法国政府和标致家族——都已承诺，未来10年内，不会将各自持股比例提高至超过14%。
But Harald Hendrikse, head automotive analyst at Nomura, says: “It’s a bargain. For Dongfeng this is an absolute bargain . . . and a game-changer for the Chinese car industry. Peugeot had no choice for negotiation in any part of this deal.”
野村(Nomura)首席汽车分析师哈拉德•亨德里克斯(Harald Hendrikse)表示：“这是笔好买卖。对东风而言，价格绝对便宜……这个交易能改变中国汽车业的格局。从谈判各个方面看，标致都处于弱势。”
Some analysts have argued that it would have been better for Peugeot instead to sell its financing arm – which lends money to new car buyers – or its parts division, Faurecia, if it really needed money to invest in cars and powertrains.
一些分析师认为，如果标致确实需要资金投入车型和动力系统，那么出售它的向新车购买者提供贷款的金融部门，或者卖掉零配件部门佛吉亚(Faurecia)，都会是更好的选择。
Critics also argue that sales in Asia, while clearly welcome, will not address the core issues of its weakness in Europe – and the new ownership arrangement by Beijing, the Elysée Palace and the Peugeot family has the potential to create conflict.
批评者还指出，尽管亚洲汽车销量强劲，但这无法解决标致在欧洲市场表现疲弱这一核心问题，而新的由中方、法国政府和标致家族共同持股的所有权安排，可能会引发冲突。
“We see a risk of a Pyrrhic victory,” says Max Warburton, analyst at Bernstein Research. “The Dongfeng deal will close out strategic options,” and government involvement “is hardly likely to lead to improved efficiency, competitiveness and growth.”
“我们认为，这有可能成为一场‘得不偿失的胜利’，”伯恩斯坦研究公司(Bernstein Research)分析师马克斯•沃伯顿(Max Warburton)说。“引进东风，就排除了标致的其他战略选择”，而法国政府的角色将很难让公司实现“效率、竞争力和增长的提升”。
However, these objections – and those of Thierry – have been overruled after months of disagreements. On Wednesday, Peugeot said it had begun a new chapter in its history and its global expansion. “PSA is back on the attack,” said Mr Varin.
但在数月的分歧后，这些反对意见——包括蒂埃里的——已被否决。周三，标致宣布，它的企业历史和全球扩张都已翻开了新篇章。瓦兰说：“标致雪铁龙(PSA)将重新发起攻势。”
Now, the question remains over how successfully the group can execute its plan under the aegis of new chief executive Carlos Tavares, an industry veteran and former number two at Renault who takes over in March, but will be in charge of operations from Wednesday.
现在的问题是，集团能否在新任首席执行官卡洛斯•塔瓦雷斯(Carlos Tavares)的带领下，逐步推进计划。塔瓦雷斯是业界资深人物，曾任雷诺(Renault)二把手。他将于3月份正式接任，但从本周三起已开始坐镇标致。
“The company is now in a much stronger position to move forward, but there are still some important questions to be sorted out,” said Mr Varin. “I am not saying everything is solved. A lot of work still has to be done.”
“公司现在做好了前进的更充分准备，但仍然有一些重要的问题需要解决，”瓦兰表示，“我不会说所有问题已经解决。还有许多工作要做。”
Peugeot’s first problem has always been its small size and focus on Europe – which became untenable as European sales began to tumble after the 2008 economic crisis. It still relies on the continent for 58 per cent of its sales. A turnround here will be tough. The European market shrunk for the sixth straight year in 2013, and Peugeot’s market share in the region shrank from 12.8 per cent in 2007 to 11.9 per cent, although it has shown recent signs of improvements.
标致的头号问题仍然是规模小、太过依赖欧洲市场。随着欧洲销量在2008年经济危机后暴跌，这种战略已经站不住脚。标致58%的销量仍来自欧洲大陆。局面不易扭转。欧洲市场2013年迎来六连跌，标致在这个市场的份额从2007年的12.8%下降到了现在的11.9%，虽然它近期表现出好转迹象。
With little help likely from wider markets, Mr Tavares will need to squeeze costs and suppliers as much as possible, try to regain market share, and invest part of the 3bn in the next generation of cars and powertrains.
在整体市场不利的情况下，塔瓦雷斯需要尽量缩减成本、挤压供应商，努力夺回市场份额，并且将30亿欧元融资的一部分，投入下一代汽车和动力系统的开发中。
However, further cost-cutting will be hard with the government on the board – and with Peugeot having agreed with unions last March that it will not close any plants in France for three years, and that it will increase French production.
不过，标致去年3月与工会达成协议，3年内不会关闭在法国的任何工厂，并且将增加在法国的产量。再加上法国政府进入董事会，进一步削减成本将不会是易事。
Peugeot already accounts for 60 per cent of France’s car production and employs close to 100,000 people locally, in an industry that, directly or indirectly, accounts for about one in 10 French jobs.
标致已经占据法国汽车产量的60%，在法国雇佣近10万人。汽车业直接或间接贡献了法国十分之一的就业。
“It’s an absolutely strategic investment,” said Pierre Moscovici, French finance minister. “The idea for the state is to guarantee the presence of PSA in France. We’ll be a stable, sound and non-sleeping shareholder.”
“这绝对是一笔战略性投资，”法国财长皮埃尔•莫斯科维奇(Pierre Moscovici)说。“政府的宗旨是保障标致雪铁龙在法国的存在。我们将是稳健而清醒的股东。”
Mr Tavares’ second challenge is the crucial, but tough task of trebling sales in China to hit a 1.5m target by 2020, as part of a wider goal to sell 50 per cent of its cars outside Europe by 2015.
塔瓦雷斯的第二个挑战既关键又艰巨，就是在2020年前实现在华销量提高两倍，达到150万辆的目标。标致的总体目标，是在2015年前将欧洲之外的销量份额增加到50%。
Then there is the tall order of turning round operations in Latin America and Russia – the two emerging markets in which Peugeot has been struggling to turn a profit for years. “China, southeast Asia [will be the focus],” said Mr Varin. “In Latin America and Russia, what is at stake is more turning around in terms of profitability. Market share is not an objective per se . . . Clearly, here, we are still to find a proper structural solution. For the rest it is really, full speed on the execution.”
此外标致还有一项艰难任务：扭转拉美和俄罗斯的业务。标致多年来在这两个新兴市场都很难实现盈利。“中国和东南亚将是重点发展的目标，”瓦兰称，“而在拉美和俄罗斯，更重要的是在盈利上扭转局面。市场份额本身不是目标……很明显，在那些市场，我们还在寻找合适的结构性方案。至于其余问题，主要依赖执行的速度。”
Finally, Mr Tavares will have to manage potentially conflicting forces in the board room, with likely two seats each going to Beijing, the Elysée and the divided Peugeot family.
最后，塔瓦雷斯还得在董事会中的不同势力间调停。东风、法国政府和分裂的标致家族，可能在董事会上各占两席。
