French Automakers Eager to Embrace Victory

　　French national football team only took 12 years to fall from the gorgeous sky to the dark valley. French team went through three ugly games and intense bickering lasting for ten days and ethnic conflicts behind infighting. French lost two games and got one tie. In addition, French team won one score and lost four scores. As a bottom one, French football team had to leave South Africa.

　　12 years ago, French football team won the World Cup. However, the outstanding "Gallic Rooster" is like a dream which will never come again. So how do you think about French team's triumph? Did French win the World Cup by chance? Is French only good at creating romantic and elegant style of football and unable to win in competition?

　　You can easily draw a conclusion after a brief review about the history of French football team. France is an excellent communicator to promote the football culture. However, French football team can hardly become a top one. In the process of bringing football to every corner across the globe, French people enjoyed their creativity and wisdom. In May 1904, with the initiative raised by French Football Federation, Federation Internationale de Football Association was established in the headquarters of Federation of Associations of French in Paris. With such a historical event as the beginning, the World Cup is held every four years.

　　In 1930, French man Jules Rimet founded the World Cup, which became a regular carnival for all the people in the world. In 1954, another French people Delaunay established the Union of European Football Associations and later founded the European Football Championship. Now people in different countries can embrace a football carnival every two years. In 1956, France Football magazine set up Ballon d'Or and European Footballer of the Year, which did not only become one of the most prestigious football awards in the world, but also started the globalization process of the award.

　　French seemed destined for the creativity, but not for victory. They are more willing to treat football simply as a kind of game and a choice for leisure during weekends. They are not so coveted for the World Cup. That's why French football team gradually came into being in 1980s and 1990s and by the year of 1998 French finally won the World Cup. In 2000, French football team won a great success in European Football Championship. However, after 2000 French football team quickly fell into sharp recession. The just-concluded trip in South Africa is another proof for the downturn.

　　After all, football is not perfume. While fragrance may be overflowing, victory is quite rare. French team has a romantic and free style and suitable for creating a treasured style which is difficult to capture. However, French football team may feel it tough to be a top one.

　　Actually, there are some similar factors in French automotive industry.

　　In the development history of automobile, French people had a number of creative achievements. In 1769, the world's first steam car was made in French army camp, triggering global boom for manufacturing cars. In 1828, the Principal of Paris Technical School invented differential mechanism and independent suspension technology on a home-made steam car, which did completely change the history of automobile. Those two technologies have been widely used. In addition, we have to remember that Citroen was the first European auto manufacturer which introduced the mass production line into Europe and also firstly created the loan for cars. Moreover, Citroen was the one of the brands which first entered the Chinese auto market.

　　With unique styles and rich characteristics, French cars cannot win a great share in the global automotive market. Even so far France has not been able to cultivate a distinctive and memorable luxury car brand.

　　Nowadays, multinational automakers are busy exploiting China's market-the largest one in the world. However, the performance of French automaker is not satisfactory. Compared with other multinational auto giants, PSA is so wavering during the process of cooperating with Chinese domestic automakers. With free and romantic features, French automakers cannot handle Chinese people's consumption demands. France has missed the first golden period of development in Chinese automotive industry.

　　Now China's automotive industry will embrace a platinum decade. PSA is taking a new opportunity to cooperate with Chang'an.

　　We should see that when French automakers face the global changes, an ambitious executive plays an important role. That is Carlos Ghosn. He developed business in Russia and established relationship with Daimler.

　　Will Carlos Ghosn embrace a long-term success? We have to wait the answer. (Translator: Qinghua/Hanxin)

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　　http://auto.sohu.com/20100624/n273055337.shtml