????對(duì)于豪車(chē)品牌來(lái)說(shuō),，更值得擔(dān)心的是隨著他們的車(chē)型價(jià)格的下探,，他們長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)建立的聲譽(yù)是否會(huì)受到影響。歷史證明豪車(chē)賤賣(mài)也有失敗的例子,。記性好的人可能還記得上世紀(jì)80年代通用汽車(chē)曾試圖把雪佛蘭Cavalier改成一款叫做凱迪拉克西馬倫（Cimarron）的車(chē)型,；另外在本世紀(jì)頭10年，奔馳也推出了一輛差強(qiáng)人意的C230機(jī)械增壓掀背車(chē),。雷克薩斯的老板馬克?湯普林警告道,，30,000美元是高端品牌的紅線。他對(duì)《汽車(chē)新聞》表示：“以雷克薩斯的質(zhì)量,、耐久性,、可靠性、工藝品質(zhì)和配置,，不可能賣(mài)到3萬(wàn)美元以下還有利潤(rùn),。根本做不到?！?/p>

????然而有風(fēng)險(xiǎn)就有回報(bào),。大膽的嘗試也給高端品牌帶來(lái)了高銷(xiāo)量和高利潤(rùn)。比如奔馳的前驅(qū)緊湊型轎車(chē)CLA的起價(jià)只有29,900美元,，但從年初到現(xiàn)在,，它的銷(xiāo)量已經(jīng)達(dá)到12,954臺(tái)。我試駕過(guò)的那輛CLA具有非常復(fù)雜的設(shè)計(jì),，內(nèi)飾的感覺(jué)也很相稱(chēng),。奧迪則將它的精華功能重新布局在A3里，它的建議零售價(jià)也只有30,975美元,，但并沒(méi)有犧牲多少該品牌一貫的質(zhì)量。

????低價(jià)車(chē)型很難實(shí)現(xiàn)高端廠商以往那種豐厚的利潤(rùn),。寶馬的利潤(rùn)目標(biāo)是8%到10%,，但對(duì)于寶馬1系、2系等低利潤(rùn)車(chē)型來(lái)說(shuō),，要實(shí)現(xiàn)這樣的利潤(rùn)是有壓力的,。但目前，1系,、2系的銷(xiāo)量已經(jīng)從寶馬公司全系車(chē)型銷(xiāo)量的25%到30%上升到了現(xiàn)在的40%,。

????戴姆勒（Daimler）CEO迪特爾?柴奇希望推動(dòng)梅塞德斯-奔馳成為業(yè)內(nèi)利潤(rùn)率最高的豪車(chē)品牌,，也就是達(dá)到10%的利潤(rùn)目標(biāo)。但是光靠銷(xiāo)售3萬(wàn)美元的CLA恐怕是很難實(shí)現(xiàn)這個(gè)目標(biāo)的,。據(jù)汽車(chē)網(wǎng)站Edmunds.com指出,，10年前，梅塞德斯-奔馳的交易價(jià)格要比行業(yè)平均水平高出93%,。到了2013年,，這個(gè)數(shù)字已經(jīng)下降到75%。

????也不是每個(gè)高端品牌都參與了大擴(kuò)張,。本田（Honda）旗下一向表現(xiàn)平平的高端品牌謳歌似乎永遠(yuǎn)都在轉(zhuǎn)型,。雖然一開(kāi)始也被設(shè)計(jì)成高端品牌，但是謳歌這種“低調(diào)的奢華”一直沒(méi)有什么市場(chǎng),。日產(chǎn)的英菲尼迪也仍然缺乏強(qiáng)烈的認(rèn)同和聲譽(yù),。今年年初，英菲尼迪又遭受了一次重大損失——被外界寄予厚望的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人約翰?德?尼琛跳槽到了凱迪拉克,。

????尼琛在凱迪拉克的第一個(gè)任務(wù),，就是如何提高緊湊車(chē)ATS和全尺寸轎車(chē)XTS的銷(xiāo)量，因?yàn)檫@兩款車(chē)的表現(xiàn)都比較令人失望,，電動(dòng)車(chē)型ELR的銷(xiāo)量幾乎更是可以忽略不計(jì),。等他在底特律待了一陣之后，他說(shuō)不定會(huì)希望能回到德國(guó),，畢竟在那里,，他會(huì)更接近豪車(chē)業(yè)務(wù)的中心。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：樸成奎

????More worrisome for luxury manufacturers is the damage that could be done to long-established reputations as they move down the price ladder. History provides some lessons in how not to succeed. Those with long memories will recall GM’s efforts to turn a Chevrolet Cavalier into the Cadillac Cimarron in the 1980s or Mercedes’ half-hearted C230 Kompressor hatchback from the early aughts. Lexus boss Mark Templin warns that a $30,000 price may be the cut off. “You can’t build a Lexus with the quality, the durability, the reliability, the craftsmanship, the content that we put in a Lexus and sell it profitably under $30,000,” he tells Automotive News. “You just can’t do it.

????But where there is risk, there can be reward, and aggressive behavior has been paying off where it counts: higher sales and richer profits. Mercedes has been selling a front-wheel drive compact sedan, the CLA, for the better part of a year with a starting price of $29,900 and has moved 12,954 units in calendar 2014. The CLA I drove had a surprisingly sophisticated design and a smartly fitted interior. Likewise, Audi has managed to reinterpret its best features in the A3, which carries a MSRP of $30,975, without sacrificing too many of the brand’s traditional qualities.

????Lower-price cars make it difficult to achieve the lush profits upscale makers are used to. BMW has margin targets of 8-10%, but that will be under pressure as the proportion of smaller, lower-margin cars like the 1- and 2-series rises to more than 40 percent of the group’s overall vehicle sales from 25-30 percent currently.

????Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche is pushing for Mercedes to become the most profitable luxury-auto producer with a 10% margin goal, but he will have a hard time doing so by selling $30,000 CLA’s. A decade ago, Mercedes Benz transaction prices were 93% higher than the industry average. In 2013, that number went down to 75%, according to Edmunds.com.

????Not every manufacturer is sharing in the swelling of the luxury brand market. Honda’s traditionally under-performing Acura seems to be in perpetual transition. Originally designed as a step-up brand, it has never been able to market its interpretation of frugal luxury. Nissan’s Infiniti, meanwhile, still lacks a strong identity and established reputation. It suffered a big loss earlier this year when its highly regarded leader Johan de Nysschen, who had been recruited from Audi, defected to equally-needy Cadillac.

????De Nysschen’s first task will be propping up sales of the compact ATS and fullsize XTS, both of which have been disappointing, and the electric ELR, whose sales have been invisible. After he has been in Detroit for awhile, he may wish he is back in Germany, where he would be closer to heart of the luxury car business.