中国低价车进军欧洲将会遇到汽车巨头的狙击

Value brands are suddenly hot in the European auto industry as carmakers get serious about protecting their low-end flanks. Volkswagen has introduced its Brazil-sourced Fox. Toyota is planning to design and build a very low-priced vehicle. Korean brands continue to sharply price their entry-level vehicles.

在欧洲，当汽车制造商开始重视底端市场时，高性价比品牌就一下子火了起来。大众引入了巴西产的Fox。丰田计划设计制造一款超低价汽车。韩国品牌继续在入门级汽车上大打价格牌。

But French automaker Renault has seized value-branding leadership. And that puts it in a strong position to head off the coming price-based challenge from Chinese automakers.

但是，法国汽车制造商雷诺已经在高性价比品牌方面取得了领先地位，这就使得其在应对即将到来的中国低价车挑战时处于比较有利的位置。

The designed-to-be-inexpensive Logan, built by Renault's low-cost Romanian subsidiary Dacia since 2004, is a hit. And it looks to become a broader success story than just serving the needs of emerging central and eastern European markets.

Yes, the Logan's sales volume in western Europe is not very high. VW's Fox outsold the Logan there last year.

Logan获得了成功，这是雷诺针对低端市场开发，并从2004年开始放在成本较低的罗马尼亚Dacia生产。Logan不仅能在新兴的中东欧获得成功，还有望在更大的范围内获得成功。然而，Logan在西欧的销量不是很高，去年被大众的Fox给超过了。

But Dacia is on an expansion course, developing a range rather than a single model. And Dacia's definition of value branding goes beyond low prices.

但Dacia并不准备只做单一车型，其正在开发系列车型。Dacia认为高性价比品牌并不等于低价格。

The brand keeps a low profile in advertising and dealer standards. And it is dedicated to a "no frills" approach. Accessory options are limited, so no damage is done to the value concept by adding too many premium features.

这个品牌广告投入不多，对经销商的要求不高，做事讲求实在。选装件比较有限，因此不会因增加太多高档东西而损害了其价值定位。

The brand's first model, the Logan sedan, was aimed at the East. It was not the right product for western Europe, where three-box small sedans are out of style.

这个品牌的第一个车型Logan轿车，瞄准的是东欧市场，因此不太适合西欧，在西欧，三厢小型轿车是不流行的。

But Dacia just added the Logan MCV, a station wagon that is attractive because of its price, its space for seven passengers and its good performance. And Dacia plans to add hatchbacks, vans, pickups and four-wheel drive models. All those products are - or will be - in demand. Parent Renault is taking advantage of Dacia's low-wage production. It also gets good use out of its own dealer base. And it gets another outlet for its technology.

Dacia推出了Logan MCV旅行车，其价格比较低、能容纳七人、性能比较好，因此具有较强的吸引力。Dacia还计划推出两厢车、厢式货车、皮卡和四驱车型。这些产品是或将会是市场所需要的。雷诺利用了Dacia低工资制造的优势。雷诺还较好地利用了自己的经销商队伍。雷诺为自己的技术找到了另一个出口。

Renault has a first-mover advantage in its value-brand strategy. And that gives it a competitive head start when Chinese cars start entering Europe in larger numbers. Renault will have at its disposal an entire Dacia Logan range, a strong advantage in perceived quality, established dealers and a better product mix.

雷诺在高性价比品牌战略方面具有先发优势，相对于开始较大规模地进入欧洲市场的中国汽车而言具于领先地位。雷诺将会有一个完整的Dacia Logan产品系列、很强的感觉上的质量优势、经销网络和更好的产品组合。