作者：Martin Hayes（何斯庭） 英国APR公关咨询公司执行主席

　　【何斯庭先生在汽车公关传播领域拥有40多年的经历。他最初曾是卡车与巴士行业记者，其后他曾在利兰集团(Leyland)，米兰德国际银行(Midland)和达夫卡车公司(DAF)担任公关部总监。随后的7年时间，他从事独立公关咨询工作。2000年他创立了Automotive PR 公关咨询公司。他现在还担任英国汽车制造商与经销商协会公关委员会和英国交通安全委员会理事。最近几年，APR在中国市场开发新的客户，因此对中国汽车产业他也有相当丰富的经验。】

　　中国热切期望在汽车市场成为真正的全球性竞技者，而我们是否要重新评估这种诉求呢？近日，我和中国某主要零部件制造商的一位高级副总裁有过交谈。这次谈话给我很多启发，让我提出了上述这一问题。这家零部件公司业绩斐然，工厂遍布全国各地，但其国际业务仅占企业全部销量的很小部分。即便如此，由于西方国家的经济衰退，公司的海外销量最近也出现锐减现象。

Martin Hayes（何斯庭）英国APR公关咨询公司执行主席

　　
　　与此同时，由于中国对汽车等现代交通工具的需求与日俱增，该公司对在华客户的销售变得更顺畅，更有利可图。颇具讽刺意味的是，许多国内客户都是与西方公司有联系的合资企业。出口业务利润率低，物流管理过程复杂，跨国沟通难度大，人民币不断升值等等，挑战众多，不一而足。该企业恐怕不是唯一正在重估其出口战略的公司。

　　那位高级副总裁的同事们问我，西方经济似乎要面临长期的疲软状态，市场需求至多是原地踏步，而中国市场的增长毫无减退迹象，尽管增速肯定会有所趋缓，有鉴于此，中国车企是否有必要去努力发展出口业务？

　　我相信，这种想法在中国汽车业界可能正成为比较普遍的意见。对于许多公司来说，重新关注本土业务，努力满足国内需求，这种战略调整充满了诱惑。 

　　然而，在我看来，如果致力于成为世界一流的中国车企走上这一道路，那么这将是一个严重的错误。推动企业去优化设计、生产以及品质的主要驱动力是真刀真枪的激烈竞争。在汽车行业，这意味着不仅要在中国销售产品，还应当在北美、欧洲及日本等发展成熟的关键市场上拓展业务。许多中国企业已经意识到，能否在这三大竞争激烈的市场打开局面是检验其实力的试金石，不过目前尚无成功案例。

　　在国际市场上销售产品不仅会带来利润上的回报，它还具有更重要的价值。此价值在于产品本身。中国车企需要真正热销的产品，赢得顾客的尊重和长期的忠诚。至少从长期来看，这一目标不太可能依靠低价战略来实现，即使在市场开发初期它会有所帮助。该目标达成与否将取决于产品自身的力量。

　　之所以要求企业拓展出口业务，还有另一个重要的诱因。我所接触的那家零部件公司正在考虑将来在证券交易所上市。毫无疑问，国际及本土投资者更愿意将资金投入到一家全球销售业绩卓著的公司中。当中国汽车销售最终趋缓而西方市场重新复苏的时候，海外业务将给中国汽车工业的继续增长提供信誉和潜力。

　　因此，对于中国汽车制造商和零部件供应商而言，赢得国际销售确实是值得争取的目标。其成功取决于多种因素，但相同点在于品牌知名度以及最终获得的品牌忠诚度。

　　中国政府正在推动合资企业在华打造本土品牌，这种趋势将让人们更加关注国际化的问题。但是，中国面临的真正挑战是自己的民族品牌如何征服西方市场。本田汽车公司的成功经验告诉我们，以全球知名的品牌在西方市场上销售"中国制造"，这可能并非难事。但是，以一个默默无闻并可能发音困难的品名在充满疑虑的西方市场销售中国造产品，那将是更为艰巨的任务。

　　本文为独家供给搜狐汽车刊载的原创文章，版权归搜狐汽车所有，未经许可，不准转载

　　Why internationalisation is worth more than just sales for China's auto industry

　　Martin Hayes

　　Could China's aspirations to be a genuinely global player in the automotive market be being reconsidered? I pose this question following an illuminating discussion I had recently with a senior VP of a major component maker. His company, a very successful enterprise with plants across China, has recently seen its non-Chinese sales, already only a minor part of total sales, decline sharply due to the Western recession.

　　At the same time his company's sales to Chinese-based clients, ironically many of them the Western-linked JVs, have become easier and more profitable thanks to the booming local demand for anything with wheels. Coupled with the low margins on export business, the complexities of logistics and communications with remote markets and the ever rising value of the Chinese currency, his is probably not the only business which is reviewing its export strategy.

　　Is it worth the effort, his colleagues are asking, given that Western markets seem to face a protracted period of at best flat demand and the Chinese market shows no signs of running out of steam, even though absolute growth figures will inevitably slow somewhat.

　　I believe that this sort of thinking may be becoming quite widespread in the Chinese auto industry and the Siren calls for the business to turn inwards again and seek to fulfil only local demand must be tempting for many.

　　It would, in my opinion, be a serious mistake if Chinese auto makers with genuine aspirations to become world class were to follow this road. The key driver to design, production and quality excellence is real, intense competition. In the auto industry that means not only selling in China but in the key 'sophisticated' markets of North America, Europe and Japan. As many Chinese companies have acknowledged – but none has yet achieved – winning sales success in those three 'tough' markets is the benchmark against which they should be judged.

　　So there is a real value to international sales which lies beyond the financial return of the sales themselves. It comes in term of products which are truly popular and which earn the respect and ongoing loyalty of customers. This is unlikely - in the long term at least - to be due to low pricing, though that may help initially. It will come from the power of the product itself.

　　There is another powerful inducement to win export business. My contact's company is looking at a stock exchange placing in the future and you can be certain that international (and Chinese) investors will be much more interested in putting their money into a company which has a proven track record in selling internationally. It gives it credibility and the potential for future growth in an industry where – eventually – sales in China may stabilise while sales in Western world may once again grow.

　　Winning international sales is thus a really worthwhile goal for Chinese vehicle makers and component suppliers alike. To achieve success will depend on many factors but one common one is brand awareness and, eventually, brand loyalty.

　　The Chinese Government's new push to get the JV makers to create local brands for China will bring this into even sharper focus but the real challenge is for Chinese indigenous brands to sell into Western markets. It may be easy, as Honda has convincingly demonstrated, to sell Chinese-made cars into Western markets under the umbrella of a globally recognised brand. It will be much more difficult to sell Made in China products to a sceptical market with an unknown, and possibly unpronouceable brand name.