马自达前景堪忧
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单看今年在美国的销售业绩，马自达汽车公司（Mazda Motor Corp.）可谓顺风顺水，风光无限。但是，真实情况则要黯淡得多。这家公司在美国的员工原本就规模有限，但它还在努力精简人员。与此同时，它把未来押在了在墨西哥新开设的一个装配厂身上。 长期以来，依靠生产充满运动感和驾驶乐趣，又价格低廉的汽车，马自达一直在各家汽车厂商中占据着独特的地位。20世纪80年代晚期，它推出了米埃塔（Miata）。这款轻盈的双座跑车成了世界上最畅销的跑车，也是有史以来知名度最高的汽车之一，堪与大众的甲壳虫（Bug）和雪佛兰的Corvette媲美。它敢为天下先，保守的厂商不愿生产的产品，它当仁不让，包括推出采用创新型旋缸引擎的车型。 可是现在，马自达也感受到了切肤之痛。今年2月，这家以生产动感车型而著称的公司也遭受到沉重打击。它宣布，在将于3月31日结束的这一财年，公司预计将亏损1,000亿日元（12.1亿美元）。这一巨额亏损与马自达过于倚重日本生产基地的生产模式密切相关。在日元对外国货币急速升值的大背景下，这一做法成为亏损的根源。 3月7日，马自达成功售出价值19亿美元的股票。这笔资金部分将用于将于2013年春在墨西哥建成的工厂建设。几天后，公司又宣布，将为其在美国的701名雇员提供一次性买断合同（即裁员——译注）。马自达的股票业绩在日本八大汽车厂商中一直处于垫底的位置。 经济预测公司环球透视公司（IHS Global Insight）的分析师吕蓓卡•林德兰的看法是：“马自达在美国的这轮裁员让我们猝不及防，因为我们没从其他两家规模较小的日本厂商，也就是三菱汽车公司（Mitsubishi）和铃木汽车公司（Suzuki）身上发现类似的举措。用美元销售，却用日元生产，马自达这么做是不可能赚钱的。这是种让人倾家荡产的模式。” 马自达在美国汽车市场的占有率为2.4%。2012年头两个月，马自达的销量上升了47.5%，这很大程度上要归功于马自达3的热销。这款车和本田汽车（Honda）的思域（Civic）以及丰田汽车（Toyota）的花冠（Corolla）属于同级车。但是一些评论人士称，它要显得更时尚。然而，林德兰称：“马自达从日本进口这款车，不可能赚钱。” 相反，思域、花冠以及其他与马自达3同级的车型都在北美生产。从货币换算和物流成本的角度看，这就能让它们拥有更大的利润空间。目前，马自达70%的生产在日本进行，而公司希望将这一比例降至50%。 |
Judging by U.S. sales so far this year, Mazda Motor Corp. looks to be on a roll. The reality, however, is far gloomier as the Japanese automaker struggles to shrink its already-lean U.S. staff while betting its future on a new Mexican assembly plant. Mazda has long occupied an idiosyncratic position among car makers, making sporty, fun-to-drive vehicles that don't cost much to own. In the late-1980s, it introduced the Miata, a lightweight two-seater that became the world's best-selling roadster as well as one of the most recognizable cars ever made, much like the Volkswagen Bug or Chevrolet (GM) Corvette. It was willing to make products more conservative manufacturers wouldn't, including models using an innovative rotary engine. Now, Mazda is in pain. The hammer dropped for the spitfire car company in February when it announced that it expected to lose 100 billion yen ($1.21 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 31. The loss stems from Mazda's heavy reliance on Japanese-base production at a time of steep appreciation in value of the yen against foreign currencies. On March 7, Mazda successfully undertook at $1.9 billion share sale to raise capital to be used in part to build a plant in Mexico by the spring of 2013. A few days later the automaker said it was offering buyouts to some of its 701 U.S. employees. Mazda stock has been the worst performer among Japan's eight largest automakers. "The U.S. buyouts caught us off guard, because we hadn't seen similar moves from two other small Japanese carmakers, Mitsubishi and Suzuki," says Rebecca Lindland, an analyst for IHS Global Insight. "Mazda can't make money selling in dollars and manufacturing in yen. It's a formula for losing your shirt." With 2.4% of the U.S. car market, Mazda sales rose 47.5% in the first two months of 2012, largely on the strength of the Mazda 3. That model is about the same size as a Honda (HMC) Civic or Toyota (TM) Corolla – but much hipper, according to reviewers. "You can't make money importing them from Japan," says Lindland. In contrast, the Civic, Corolla and other contenders in the Mazda 3's segment are built in North America, which helps make them profitable, from the standpoint of currency translation and transportation costs. Mazda currently builds 70% of its production in Japan, a level it would like to reduce to 50%. |
