Asian Car Makers Driving A Wedge Into European Market
Asian carmakers have been snapping at the heels of European rivals for years, but now they're taking big chunks out of continental producers' market shares.
In the first six months of this year, Japanese and Korean car manufacturers boosted their share of the European market to 16.1% from 14.3% a year before, according to the European car manufacturers' association.
While new registrations of cars made by European manufacturers in Western Europe fell 4.3% on the year, those of Asian companies surged 7.6%.
European automobile producers have been through tough stretches in the past, but this fresh threat comes at a bad time. Their sales in Europe are weak and incentives in the U.S. have shaved margins for companies selling cars there.
On top of that, the likes of Toyota Motor Corp. (J.TYM) and Hyundai Motor Co (Q.HMC) are upping the ante in Europe with the same determination that helped bring about the transformation of the U.S. auto industry in the 1970s and 1980s.
"There's no doubt in my mind that Asian manufacturers have launched a major push into Europe," said Stephen Cheetham, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC. "They want to expand globally where they can maximize profit, and now they're focusing on Europe. It may be a tough and fragmented market, but it's become quite attractive, financially."
That new attractiveness has much to do with the euro's sharp rise over the past 18 months, which means that every car sold in Europe translates into many more yen or won for Japanese or Korean manufacturers.
Cheetham predicts that within 20 years Japanese and Korean manufacturers could double their share of the European market to around 30%. And cars made in industrializing low-cost countries such as China will one day be doing their bit to clog Europe's traffic arteries, he said.
Asian Companies Making Inroads In France
In the French market, where Asian producers have long been dismissed as a minor irritation, Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai have expanded their collective market share to 6.4% from 5%, latest industry data show.
French sales for the three companies jumped a collective 18% in the first seven months of the year, with those of Hyundai alone soaring 33%. By contrast, sales of Renault SA (F.RNA) sagged 10% in the same period, while registrations of new cars made by the other French auto manufacturer, Peugeot-Citroen SA (F.PEU), shrank 7%.
French car industry executives brush off the latest figures, however.
"Asian companies may be seeing fast sales growth, but in absolute terms volumes remain small," said an official of the car manufacturers' association.
But Jean-Claude Hunsicker, a spokesman for Hyundai Motor Co. (Q.HMC) in France, says the surge in demand his company is experiencing is in line with the 25% average annual average growth rate Hyundai since its sales there took off in 1999.
He says the company has been able to increase sales by adding to the number of cars it offers and being more responsive to European sensibilities.
"We now offer 16 different models, we've expanded the dealership network throughout France and adapted to the market by introducing diesel engines and focusing on the (sport-utility vehicle) segment so that our Santa Fe mid-size SUV is the biggest-selling model in its category in France," Hunsicker said.
The shift in market forces in Europe seems to be deep-rooted now that Asian manufacturers have the right formula.
Toyota, Honda and Nissan already make cars in Europe, while Hyundai, bolstered by its sales success, is negotiating with authorities in the Czech Republic and other eastern European countries to build an assembly plant.
New Models A Key To Success
Imports of Japanese cars into some European countries were limited by annual quotas for many years to protect local manufacturers. But these barriers were dismantled in 1999, opening up the market to competition, although Japanese manufacturers still have to pay a 10% import tariff.
Asian manufacturers' strategy has been to plug gaps in their range of models, and they're now beating European carmakers in the subcompact and compact segments by offering products that are more stylish than in the past and that appeal to European tastes.
Nissan's restyled Micra, for example, has been selling like hotcakes, as have Toyota's Yaris and the Honda Civic.
"Our growth in Europe has really been product-led," said Nissan Europe (J.NMC) spokesman Frank Shepherd. Nissan Europe has introduced diesel engines across its range. The company's tie-up with Renault SA (F.RNA), which supplies the engines, has been a godsend in this respect.
At the same time, Asian manufacturers were prescient in sensing the booming market for high-margin SUVs. And they finally caught on to the idea that many Europeans prefer diesel-powered cars.
There's also grudging but growing acceptance among European car buyers that Asian vehicles are no less dependable and may offer more value than locally made cars.
Asian producers are also profiting from the implosion of European manufacturers like Italy's Fiat SpA (FIA), said Cheetham.
"Fiat is already looking battered, and (Asian companies) are also taking market share from other soft targets like General Motors Europe (GM) and Ford (F)," he said.
Charles Young , head of European automobile industry forecasting at J.D. Power LMC, agreed that Asian car makers are making more money in Europe than before but noted that margins weren't all that fat previously.
With the U.S. market looking to remain soft for some time to come, Europe has become an important battleground for car manufacturers, Young said. "There's no question that the balance has moved heavily in favor of Europe" as a target market, he said.
But it's not a one-way street. Young said European car makers are fighting back. They're making a big push to win back market share in the SUV sector, he says, and there's a flurry of new product development in the bottom end of the market where the Asians have been wreaking havoc up to now.
亚洲轿车制造商开始诺曼底登陆
很多年以来，亚洲轿车生产商一直跟在欧洲厂商后面亦步亦趋，但现在它们已开始从欧洲竞争对手们手中大肆抢夺市场占有率了。
据欧洲轿车制造商协会称，今年前6个月，日本和韩国轿车生产商在欧洲市场的占有率由去年同期的14.3%升至16.1%。
西欧厂商生产轿车的新注册数量较上年同期下降4.3%，而亚洲产轿车的新注册量则上升了7.6%。
尽管欧洲汽车制造商在以往也承受过压力，但这一轮新的威胁来得不是时候。欧洲汽车制造商目前的处境不利：欧洲市场的销售疲软，而在美国市场进行的促销活动导致在该市场销售汽车的利润率出现下降。 除此以外，包括丰田汽车公司(Toyota Motor Corp., J.TYM)和现代汽车公司(Hyundai Motor Co, Q.HMC)在内的亚洲汽车制造商正以很大的决心扩展欧洲市场，而也正是这种决心使美国汽车业在70和80年代发生了翻天覆地的变化。
Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC.分析师斯蒂芬?奇瑟姆(Stephen Cheetham)表示，毫无疑问，亚洲生产商已经开始大举进军欧洲市场。它们希望在全球扩张以实现利润的最大化，现在将注意力放到欧洲市场上。欧洲可能是一块难啃的骨头，但从财务上讲，它又是一个极具吸引力的市场。
这种新的吸引力在很大程度上和欧元过去18个月的飙升有关，因为这意味著日本或韩国制造商在欧洲销售每一辆车所换回的日圆或韩圆收入将大大增加。
奇瑟姆预计在未来20年内，日本和韩国制造商在欧洲市场的占有率将增长一倍，至30%左右。包括中国在内的发展中低成本国家生产的汽车终有一日也会奔驰在欧洲的道路上。
亚洲公司在法国突袭成功
据最新的行业数据显示，在亚洲制造商一直被视为无关紧要力量的法国市场上，丰田汽车、日产汽车(Nissan)和现代汽车总的市场占有率已经由5%升至6.4%。
今年前7个月，这3家公司在法国总的销售额跃升了18%，其中现代汽车销量飙升了33%。与此形成对比的是，雷诺公司(Renault SA, F.RNA)销售下降10%，而另一家法国汽车制造商标致雪铁龙(Peugeot-Citroen SA, F.PEU)生产新车的注册量萎缩了7%。
但法国轿车工业管理人士对最新的数据并未予以重视。
轿车制造商协会的一位管理人士表示，亚洲公司的销售增幅可能很大，但从绝对数字来看，销量仍然不大。
但现代汽车驻法国的发言人吉恩?克劳德(Jean-Claude Hunsicker)表示，自1999年开始在欧洲销售汽车以来，公司一直保持25%的年平均增长率，目前对公司产品需求的上升同该趋势大体一致。
他表示，公司已经能够通过增加新车型和按照欧洲人的口味作出调整来扩大销售额。 吉恩?克劳德指出，现代汽车现在提供16款车型，已经将经销商网络扩展至整个法国，而且通过推出柴油发动机和集中精力于运动型多用途车(SUV)来迎合市场。目前现代汽车生产的胜达(Santa Fe)中型SUV已经成为法国该类车中销量最大的车型。
由于亚洲制造商采取正确的方法，欧洲市场主导力量的变化似乎不可避免。
丰田汽车、本田汽车(Honda)和日产汽车已经在欧洲生产轿车，而受到销售大获成功刺激的现代汽车正在与捷克共和国和其他东欧国家进行有关建设一家组装厂的谈判。
新车型是关键
为保护本地生产商，部分欧洲国家多年来一直通过年度配额的方法限制日本轿车的进口。然而，这种壁垒在1999年取消，虽然日本生产商仍需支付10%的进口关税，但市场毕竟已向竞争者开放。
亚洲制造商的策略一直是填补欧洲竞争对手车型的空挡，推出具有竞争力的产品，他们通过提供较过去更新潮和更为符合欧洲人口味的产品在经济型和小型轿车领域打败了欧洲竞争对手。
比方说，日产汽车重新设计的新款Micra的销售势头就非常火爆。丰田汽车的Yaris和本田汽车的Civic的销售也是如此。
日产汽车欧洲的发言人谢泼德(Frank Shepherd)表示，公司在欧洲的发展一直是以产品为导向的。公司的全部车型已经在欧洲推出柴油发动机版本。公司和雷诺公司(Renault SA, F.RNA)的紧密合作也在这方面提供有力的支持。后者一直向其供应发动机。
另一方面，亚洲制造商预见到高利润率的SUV市场的高速增长潜力，而且他们也认识到并顺应了很多欧洲人青睐柴油发动机轿车的想法。
尽管增幅不大，但确实有越来越多的欧洲消费者认为亚洲生产商制造的轿车和当地的轿车一样可靠，还有可能提供更高的价值。
奇瑟姆指出，亚洲制造商也从包括意大利菲亚特公司(Fiat SpA, FIA)在内部分欧洲制造商的破产中受益匪浅。
他表示，菲亚特已经完了，而亚洲公司正在从包括通用汽车欧洲(General Motors Europe, GM)和福特汽车(Ford, F)的其他软柿子手中夺取更多的市场占有率。
J.D. Power LMC欧洲汽车工业预测部门负责人查里斯?扬(Charles Young)同意亚洲轿车制造商现在在欧洲赚取的利润高于以往，但他指出，利润率却不像以前一样丰厚了。
查里斯?扬表示，由于美国市场在未来一段时间内依旧疲软，欧洲已经成为各个制造商的重要战场。他表示，由于欧洲已经成为一个目标市场，全球竞争的焦点已经毫无疑问地转移至欧洲市场。
但这并不是让亚洲生产商肆意妄为的市场。查里斯?扬表示，欧洲轿车生产商正在进行绝地大反攻。他指出，它们正努力收复SUV领域的市场占有率，并在亚洲制造商到目前为止取得巨大成功的市场低端产品系列中推出一系列的新产品开发项目。
