吉利将在欧洲推出新品牌汽车

Geely is launching a mass-market car in Europe, becoming the first Chinese automaker to push into the region in its own right.

吉利(Geely)准备在欧洲推出一款大众市场汽车，成为首家凭借自身力量进军欧洲的中国汽车制造商。

The group, which owns Volvo Cars and the London Taxi Company, will today unveil Lynk & Co, which aims to compete directly with Volkswagen, the market leader in Europe, and appeal to younger buyers.

旗下拥有沃尔沃汽车(Volvo Cars)和伦敦出租车公司(London Taxi Company)的吉利集团，将于今日推出Lynk & Co品牌汽车，旨在与欧洲市场领导者大众(Volkswagen)展开直接竞争，并吸引年轻买家。

A Lynk-branded SUV will launch in China next year and be rolled out to Europe by the end of 2018, followed by smaller cars such as a saloon and a hatchback.

Lynk品牌的SUV将于明年在中国发售，并将在2018年底之前在欧洲推出，随后还将推出轿车、掀背车等更小型的汽车。

The move is expected to spur other Chinese companies to push into Europe to offset slowing growth at home.

预计此举将刺激其他中国企业进军欧洲，以补偿国内汽车销量增长的放缓。

International carmakers that want to do business in China must partner with local companies under state law. This has given Chinese manufacturers access to western technology, design and manufacturing practices.

中国法律规定，想要在中国经营的跨国汽车制造商必须与当地企业成立合资公司。这使得中国制造商可以获得西方的技术、设计和制造方法。

“There is no question that other [Chinese carmakers] will follow,” said Michael Dunne, an expert on the Chinese motor industry. “Their home market’s phase as a cash cow has come to an end, and the quality of Chinese-branded vehicles is now comparable with international brands.”

“毫无疑问，其他（中国汽车制造商）将紧随其后，”研究中国汽车工业的专家邓凯(Michael Dunne)说，“国内市场作为摇钱树的阶段已经结束，中国品牌汽车的品质如今可以与国际品牌媲美。”

Their aim, he said, was to blend the best aspects of low-cost manufacturing with European design and quality. “If they get it right, there’s plenty of space to take on European makers with heavy overheads.”

他表示，中国车企的目标是将低成本制造业的优势与欧洲的设计和品质结合起来。“如果做得好的话，将有足够空间与经营成本高昂的欧洲制造商进行较量。”

The new marque, which was designed in Sweden at Geely’s China Europe vehicle technology centre, will have a higher price tag than Geely cars but lower than Volvo. It aims to compete with VW in Europe.

该款新品牌汽车由吉利在瑞典的欧洲汽车技术中心设计，售价将高于吉利汽车，但低于沃尔沃。其目标是与大众汽车在欧洲竞争。

“We were told it should feel European, specifically northern European,” said Peter Horbury, Geely’s design director.

吉利设计总监彼得.霍伯里(Peter Horbury)称：“我们接到的指示是，这款车应具有欧洲风格，特别是北欧风格。”

Breaking into Europe would help Geely “become a global automotive company”, said An Conghui, group president. “People will ask why the world needs another car brand. That is like asking why you need Apple when you have Motorola. To build a brand takes time, but it will not take as much time to build the brand as in the past.”

打入欧洲将帮助吉利“成为一家全球汽车公司”，吉利集团总裁安聪慧表示，“人们会问，为什么这个世界需要一个新的汽车品牌。这就像在问，当你手里有摩托罗拉(Motorola)时为什么还需要苹果(Apple)。打造一个品牌需要时间，但不会像过去那么久。”

The car will be manufactured in China “but it’s entirely possible that we will move to Europe to manufacture the cars in the future”, Mr An added.

这款车将在中国制造，“但未来迁至欧洲制造也是完全有可能的，”安聪慧补充道。

Geely will not use a traditional dealer network or advertising to promote the new car. It will focus on social media to reach younger drivers.

吉利将不会利用传统经销商网络或广告来推销该车。它将通过聚焦社交媒体来影响年轻车手。

The Lynk 01 is hailed as the “most connected car”, in an effort to woo buyers who are more concerned with access to streaming services than with traditional car performance metrics such as torque or horsepower.

Lynk 01车型被誉为“最互联的汽车”，旨在吸引相对扭矩或动力等传统汽车性能指标更关心获得流媒体服务的买家。

It will also roll out car-sharing schemes linked to the Lynk brand.

吉利还将推出与Lynk品牌相关的汽车共享计划。