英菲尼迪能否重演奥迪的奇迹？

    在90年代初销量探底后，奥迪的销量开始缓慢回升，直到2004到2005年才迈入快速增长阶段。这主要归功于尼琛和他的团队改变了业务模式，减少了铺货数量。另外他还取消了较大的销售折扣，以鼓励租赁的方式取而代之。这样一来，奥迪的定价和品牌声望都得到了改善，最终吸引了更多的消费者，也提升了销量。奥迪适时推出的大量新车型也没有伤害到尼琛的“饥饿营销”策略。这些新车型以2006年的奥迪R8跑车的推出达到顶点，它也标志着奥迪品牌的复兴之路达到了顶峰。

    尼琛是南非人。6月初他向奥迪员工发送了一封电子邮件，否认了他的离职与大众公司（Volkswagen）和奥迪的高层地震有任何关系。奥迪的高管们向尼琛赠送了一个具有纪念意义的奥迪A4方向盘，算是批准了他与奥迪的和平分手。

    可以明显看出，日产和大众两家公司都为未来几年制定了雄心勃勃的增长目标，而且他们无疑都想卖出更多的豪华车型。奥迪已经表示，计划截止到2018年，将奥迪在美国的年销量由去年的117,561台（比2010年提高16%）提高到20万台。英菲尼迪则计划到2016年前使全球销量达到现在的三倍，也就是从去年的15万辆增长到约50万辆。

    目前美国是英菲尼迪最重要的市场——不过未来中国很可能会取而代之，正如中国现在已经成了奥迪最重要的市场。英菲尼迪计划从2014年开始，与一家中资伙伴共同在华生产两款车型。

    尼琛的跳槽还将泛起一些涟漪。在他离开奥迪后，曾经在奔驰服务过的斯科特•基奥或许有望接替他的位子，他要在尼琛的基础上继续打造这个品牌。现在，尼琛和基奥一定都在互相猜测对方的下一步棋，同时努力实现各自雄心勃勃的销量目标。

    译者：朴成奎

    After hitting rock bottom in the early 1990s, Audi sales slowly began to recover. But the franchise didn't really take off until 2004 to 2005, when De Nysshen and his team changed the business model, reducing the number of units available. He also did away with deep discounts in the form of incentivized leases. Pricing and prestige improved, which eventually brought more buyers to showrooms and lifted sales. A raft of well-timed new models didn't hurt either; Audi unveiled a series of glitzy new vehicles that culminated in the 2006 release of the R8, a steroidal sports car that seemed a capstone on the brand's turnaround.

    A native South African, de Nysschen sent an email to Audi employees earlier this month denying that his departure was related to a broad and simultaneous shakeup across VW and in Audi's top management in Ingolstadt, Germany. Fellow Audi executives more or less ratified the amicable departure by presenting him with a ceremonial steering wheel from an Audi A4, which had owned early in his career.

    What's clear is that Nissan and VW have both set ambitious growth targets over the next few years, which presume much higher luxury sales. Audi has said it wants to sell 200,000 vehicles in the U.S. by 2018, up from 117,561 last year, a 16% gain from 2010. Infiniti intends to more than triple its global sales by 2016 to half a million from about 150,000 worldwide last year.

    Infiniti's most important market for now is the U.S. – but China could be tops, as it is currently for Audi. Infiniti plans to start manufacturing two Infiniti models in China in 2014 with a Chinese partner.

    But there is another wrinkle. De Nysschen's exit from Audi, Volkswagen's luxury brand, opened the way for the promotion of Scott Keogh, a one-time Mercedes executive, who will face the task of building upon De Nysschen's impressive stewardship of a once troubled brand. Now, De Nysschen and Keogh are bound to be imagining one another's next moves -- even as they try to fulfill their own ambitious sales goals.