通用汽车第二轮救助引发欧洲同行不满

    国际汽车巨头在欧洲的销售本已惨淡不堪，如今更是每况愈下。

    现在，底特律的两大汽车厂商为了避免更大亏损，正在大刀阔斧地厉行节约。通用汽车（General Motors）正与标致雪铁龙集团（PSA/Peugeot-Citroen）合作，共同分担在欧洲开发通用欧宝（Opel）和沃克斯豪尔（Vauxhall，英国汽车公司，1925年被通用收购——译注）这两大品牌新车型的成本。福特汽车（Ford Motor）准备关闭位于比利时根克（Genk）的产量不足的组装厂，同时试图在位于西班牙瓦伦西亚和位于德国萨尔路易（Sarlouis）的两家工厂间实现生产的平衡。

    通用之所以采取这一举措，是因为陷入财务困境的标致集团已从法国政府获得了救助。法国政府同意为标致集团增发90亿美元债券提供担保，从而在该公司的运营上具有更大话语权。分析师称，如果不是法国政府及时干预，标致将面临破产——而通用在欧洲努力止损的最后一招也将落空。过去十年来，通用在欧洲的亏损总计高达约120亿美元。今年年初，通用与标致达成了战略合作协议，成为标致的第二大股东。

    大众汽车公司（Volkswagen AG）及其所在的德国下萨克森州共同提出抗议，认为法国政府对标致的资助（此举也连带惠及通用位于德国的子公司欧宝）违反了欧盟的法规，要求欧盟对此进行审议。而标致公司的首席财务官巴堤•德•查狄伦对彭博新闻社（Bloomberg News）表示：“我发现，我们有相当一部分对手并未善意看待这次救助，不过相关条款公布后大家就会发现，这不是国家资助，只是一种支持而已。”

    2009年，通用申请破产，现在由美国政府持股25%。尽管它财务情况甚佳，但欧宝和沃克斯豪尔的困境却拖了公司及其股票的后腿，现在它的股价约为2010年的三分之二。私下里，通用高管非常希望切断与美国财政部（the U.S. Treasury）的关系。公司很想终结外界认为其业务决策还在受到政府监管的印象。由于2009年受到政府资助，导致一些消费者对通用车抱有明显的偏见，这也让通用深感痛苦。

    通用将与标致合作开展四个新车项目：为欧宝/沃克斯豪尔开发的紧凑型多用途厢式货车；一款小型车；一款低排放的小型车和一款中型车。知名汽车网站Edmunds.com的分析师米歇尔•克雷布斯称：“显然，通用通过股权关系与这家法国汽车厂商紧密合作只会使事态复杂化，”这句话同样也指向法国政府对标致的救助。

    福特在比利时的关厂行动将裁减4,000多个工作岗位。此举将对通用构成更大压力，因为通用也必须削减产能。通用已表示，其位于德国波鸿的组装厂可能于2016年关闭。2012年前9个月，欧盟车市整体下滑7.6%，而福特在这一市场的销量下降了12.6%。第二财季，福特宣布其在欧洲的亏损达到4.04亿美元。9月17日，瑞银集团（UBS）发布估算，福特关闭根克工厂将节省5亿美元的成本。

    十年前，通用曾与意大利汽车厂商菲亚特（Fiat）达成合作，但这一欧美联盟最终却以失败告终。当年曾促成这一合作后却将通用带向破产境地的高管为此饱受诟病。【菲亚特现在控制克莱斯勒公司（Chrysler）】。而上一代管理层也曾有机会与雷诺汽车（Renault）合作。雷诺后与日产汽车（Nissan）结盟，并与梅赛德斯奔驰（Mercedes）不断加强合作，这两大战略举措使其市场地位相对稳固，财务也变得稳健。尽管曾有这些前车之鉴，但通用新一届领导层并未因此而受到创伤——不过，他们在欧洲能选择的出路也实在有限，只能达成目前这种力所能及的合作，同时祈祷经济尽快迎来复苏。

    译者：清远

    A grim situation for global automakers selling cars in Europe is growing worse.

    Now the two biggest Detroit-based automakers are undertaking drastic cost-cutting measures to stem massive losses. General Motors Co. (GM) is joining forces with PSA/Peugeot-Citroen to split the cost of developing new models for GM's Opel and Vauxhall brands on the continent. Ford Motor Co. (F) is shutting its under-utilized Belgian assembly plant in Genk. Ford will juggle production among its plant in Valencia, Spain and Sarlouis, Germany.

    GM's move comes as financially ailing Peugeot has secured a rescue from the French government. France will guarantee $9 billion worth of new Peugeot bonds in return for greater influence over the automaker's operations. Without France's intervention, analysts say, Peugeot faces insolvency -- and GM would lose in its latest bid to stanch losses on the continent, which have totaled about $12 billion over the past decade. GM is Peugeot's second-biggest shareholder, under terms of an alliance forged earlier this year.

    Volkswagen AG and the German state of Lower Saxony, where VW is located, are protesting that French aid for Peugeot (and, by extension, for GM's Germany-based Opel unit) constitutes a violation of European Union rules and have asked for a review by the EU. "I see that certain of our competitors don't see [the bailout] with a friendly eye, but when the terms are presented you'll see that it's not state aid, but support," Peugeot chief financial officer Jean-Baptiste Chatillon told Bloomberg News.

    GM, which filed for bankruptcy in 2009, is 25% owned by the U.S. Although the automaker's finances are strong, its difficulties with Opel/Vauxhall are a drag on the company and its stock, which is trading at roughly two-third's its 2010 offering price. Privately, GM executives are anxious to sever the company's connection with the U.S. Treasury. GM wants to end the appearance of government oversight of business decisions; and the automaker is rankled by the stated bias of some consumers against GM vehicles due to government aid in 2009.

    GM identified four vehicle projects it will pursue with Peugeot: a compact, multipurpose van for Opel/Vauxhall; a small car; a low-emissions small car and a midsize car. "Certainly [GM] being tied to a French automaker through an equity position complicates matters," said Michelle Krebs, analyst for Edmunds.com, an automotive website, referring to the report of a bailout from the French government.

    The Ford action in Belgium will cost more than 4,000 jobs. It will put more pressure on GM, which also must cut capacity. GM has said its Bochum, Germany assembly plant could be closed in 2016. Ford's sales in the EU dropped 12.6% during the first nine months of 2012 in a market that's down 7.6%. In the second quarter Ford posted a $404 million loss in Europe. UBS on Sept. 17 estimated that shutting Genk could save Ford $500 million in costs.

    The executives who took GM into bankruptcy were burned badly by a failed European alliance with Italian automaker Fiat a decade ago. (Fiat now controls Chrysler.) The previous generation also blundered on a chance to ally with Renault, whose alliance with Nissan (NASNY) and growing cooperation with Mercedes makes it relatively stable and financially secure. GM's new generation of executives has no scars from those debacles -- but it also has few good options in Europe other than to make what alliance it can and pray for an economic rebound.