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Volvo will next week unveil its first new model under Chinese ownership, a make-or-break model for the Swedish carmaker in its bid to almost double its sales by the end of the decade.
沃尔沃(Volvo)下周将发布被中国企业收购后的第一款新车型。该车型将决定这家瑞典汽车制造商能否到2020年时将销量提升到之前的接近两倍。
The launch of the XC90, a large SUV designed to compete with the BMW X5 and Audi Q7, is being hailed by Volvo executives as part of a rebirth of the company since it was sold by Ford to China’s Geely in 2010.
沃尔沃将要发布的是新一代XC90，这是一款旨在与宝马X5 (BMW X5)和奥迪Q7 (Audi Q7)一决高下的大型运动型多用途车(SUV)，沃尔沃高管们将其誉为2010年后公司复兴计划的一部分。2010年，沃尔沃被福特(Ford)卖给中国的吉利(Geely)。
Under a $11bn investment programme since then, Volvo has designed a new chassis and engines to replace components it used to share with Ford.
在易主后，沃尔沃通过一项110亿美元的投资计划设计了新的底盘和引擎，以替换此前与福特车型共用的部件。
“It’s also a symbolic car from that point of view. It is the biggest proof and evidence of what we are all about. If this doesn’t work we have an issue,” said Alain Visser, Volvo’s head of sales and marketing.
“从这个角度来说，它还是一款具有象征意义的车，最大限度地证明和表明了我们的特色。如果这也行不通，那我们就有麻烦了，”沃尔沃销售与营销高级副总裁阿兰•维瑟(Alain Visser)说。
The Swedish carmaker has struggled for much of the past decade with stagnating sales of about 400,000 vehicles a year – well below the 1.6m recorded by luxury carmakers such as BMW and Audi. But under Geely’s ownership it now has a target of reaching 800,000 cars by 2020 and achieving a profit margin of 8 per cent, after losses in several recent years.
在过去10年的很大一部分时间里，停滞不前的销售额让沃尔沃苦苦挣扎，约40万辆车的年销量远低于宝马、奥迪等高端汽车制造商160万辆车的年销量。不过，被吉利收购后，虽然近几年出现了亏损，但沃尔沃现已制定了到2020年时年销量达到80万辆以及利润率达到8%的目标。
“Volvo are a bit of an in-between carmaker,” said one investor active in the automotive sector. “They don’t sell as much as BMW or Audi but they also price their cars somewhere in between the mass market and premium manufacturers.”
“沃尔沃有点像一家夹在中间的汽车制造商，”一名活跃于汽车领域的投资者说，“他们卖的车没有宝马或奥迪多，但他们车的价位也处于大众市场和高端制造商之间。”
The XC90 will be priced between 50,000 and 100,000 and is touted by the Swedish carmaker as the first model priced directly against equivalents from Germany.
新一代XC90的价格将在5万欧元到10万欧元之间，沃尔沃宣称这是首款直接针对德国同级别车型定价的车型。
“The ambition with this car is to close the gap. Pricing can only be increased by more attractive cars,” said Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo’s chief executive.
“这款车的目标是缩小差距。只有推出更多有吸引力的车才能提高定价，”沃尔沃首席执行官霍坎•萨穆埃尔松(Håkan Samuelsson)说。
The SUV is seen as crucial for Volvo’s prospects in China and the US, where sales have been falling for the past decade. Normally available as a seven-seater, it will be available with four seats especially for the Chinese market after the input of Li Shufu, the chairman of both Volvo and Geely.
过去10年，沃尔沃在中国和美国的销量一直在下降。人们认为新一代XC90对沃尔沃在这两个市场的前景至关重要。这款车通常配置7个座位，在得到沃尔沃和吉利共同的董事长李书福的意见后，这款车将特别为中国市场推出4座车型。
Thomas Ingenlath, head of design, said Volvo had learned to value the importance of the back-seat passenger from its Chinese owner.
沃尔沃设计高级副总裁托马斯•英根拉特(Thomas Ingenlath)表示，沃尔沃从吉利那里学到了要重视后排座的乘客。
