卖有趣的汽车：丰田如何重回巅峰

    丰田章男的影响在搭配金属装饰的2014版丰田卡罗拉（Corolla）上得以体现。这是史上最畅销汽车的第11代产品。经过重新设计的卡罗拉前端显得活力十足，车尾上翘。这样的设计风格通常出现在高端的运动型轿车上。卡罗拉的部分车型还装配了换挡拨片和皮革包裹的方向盘。顾客很喜欢这种运动车型。今年9月，丰田在美国售出了约2.3万辆卡罗拉，排名全美第七。

    丰田章男还是力主丰田的新全球架构（TNGA）计划的关键人物。该计划希望在产品线上实现开发和制造的标准化，节约多达30%的成本。比如，丰田目前使用了超过50种不同的气囊设计，以搭配不同的司机座椅位置。TGNA将根据人体臀部在座椅上的位置，对身体压力和搁脚空间采用标准化，以在不同的车型上使用统一的冲压配件。如此一来，气囊的种类就能缩减到10种以下。

    丰田未来的发展受到了日本本土市场萧条的限制。在日本，人口老龄化严重，年轻人据说也没有驾驶的兴趣。不过企业在中国还有拓展的空间。在中国，丰田业务进展缓慢，近来领土争端引发的反日情绪导致销量下滑。丰田预计今年在华销量仅有90万辆，而大众和通用预计将分别有320万和300万辆。

    尽管丰田在亚洲和其他地区有着广阔的前景，丰田章男本人却并没有多少进账。据估计，尽管他的个人财富据估计达到10亿美元，他在2012年的收入却只有190万美元——不过是其他汽车制造商总裁收入的一小部分。因此，他自称为“世界上最经济适用的总裁。”

    也许他是对的。（财富中文网）

    译者：严匡正

    Stamped in the sheet metal, Akio's influence can be seen in the 2014 Corolla, the 11th generation of history's best-selling car. The redesigned Corolla carries a more aggressive front end and a raised deck in the rear -- design features usually found on higher-end sport sedans -- and some versions are equipped with paddle shifters and leather-wrapped steering wheels. Buyers like the sporty options. Toyota sold some 23,000 Corollas in the U.S. in September, making it the seventh-most-popular vehicle.

    Akio has also been a key driver behind Toyota's new global architecture (TNGA) that will standardize development and manufacturing across its product line and lead to savings of up to 30%. For instance, Toyotas currently use more than 50 different air bag designs to suit different driver seating positions. TNGA will be based on a common hip point location to standardize body pressings and footwells, enabling the use of common pressings in different models, which will allow the number of air bags to be slashed to below 10.

    The further growth of Toyota is constrained by stagnation in its home market of Japan, where the population is aging and young people are said to have little interest in driving. But it has room to expand in China, where it has been slow to grow and where sales have been dampened recently by anti-Japanese sentiment inflamed by a territorial dispute. Toyota expects to sell just 900,000 vehicles in China this year vs. 3.2 million vehicles for VW and 3 million for GM.

    While Toyota has a bright future in Asia and elsewhere, Akio has yet to cash in. Though his personal wealth has been estimated at $1 billion, his 2012 pay was only $1.9 million -- a fraction of what the heads of some other automakers take home. As a result, he's taken to calling himself "the world's most fuel-efficient chief executive."

    He may be right.