韓國(guó)汽車(chē)制造商在華銷(xiāo)量銳減

China’s backlash over the deployment of a US missile shield is denting sales at South Korean carmakers, amid heightened competition with fast-growing local automakers.

中國(guó)對(duì)部署美國(guó)導(dǎo)彈防御系統(tǒng)的反彈正在影響韓國(guó)汽車(chē)制造商的銷(xiāo)售，同時(shí)中國(guó)本土汽車(chē)制造商的快速增長(zhǎng)加劇了競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。

Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors, which together rank as the world’s fifth-largest automaker, reported sliding China sales last month and have responded by cutting production in the country.

現(xiàn)代汽車(chē)(Hyundai Motor)及其關(guān)聯(lián)公司起亞汽車(chē)(Kia Motors)——兩者加起來(lái)是全球第五大汽車(chē)制造商——報(bào)告上月在華銷(xiāo)售下滑，并已采取削減在華生產(chǎn)的對(duì)策。

Hyundai on Monday reported a 7.8 per cent year-on-year fall in March overseas sales, blaming “weaker sales in China” amid political tension over Seoul’s installation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (Thaad) system. Kia’s overseas sales for March contracted 12.5 per cent year on year.

現(xiàn)代汽車(chē)周一報(bào)告，3月份海外銷(xiāo)量同比下降7.8%，該公司怪罪于“在華銷(xiāo)售疲軟”，其背景是首爾方面部署末段高空區(qū)域防御系統(tǒng)(THAAD，中文簡(jiǎn)稱(chēng)：薩德)引起政治緊張。起亞3月份海外銷(xiāo)量同比下降12.5%。

The carmaker yesterday said March sales in China fell 52 per cent year-on-year.

該汽車(chē)制造商昨日表示3月份在華銷(xiāo)量同比下降52%。

“Things are deteriorating in China for them as anti-Korean sentiment worsens, making Chinese consumers reluctant to buy Korean cars,” said Kim Jin-woo, analyst at Korea Investment & Securities. “A production cut in China seems inevitable one way or another to reduce mounting inventories.”

韓國(guó)投資證券公司(Korea Investment & Securities)分析師Kim Jin-woo表示：“隨著反韓情緒加劇，令中國(guó)消費(fèi)者不愿意購(gòu)買(mǎi)韓國(guó)汽車(chē)，它們?cè)谥袊?guó)的形勢(shì)正在惡化。為緩解不斷積壓的庫(kù)存，在中國(guó)減產(chǎn)似乎不可避免。”

Hyundai is the latest victim of the diplomatic stand-off between the two nations as Beijing piles pressure on Korean companies with operations in China in protest at the Thaad deployment. Lotte said on Monday it would continue to invest in China, denying rumours that it might scale down Chinese operations. Lotte has closed 75 of its 99 hypermarkets in China in recent weeks, following regulatory inspections by Chinese authorities.

現(xiàn)代汽車(chē)是兩國(guó)外交對(duì)峙的最新受害者，北京對(duì)在華經(jīng)營(yíng)的韓國(guó)企業(yè)施加壓力，以反對(duì)薩德部署。樂(lè)天(Lotte)周一表示將繼續(xù)投資中國(guó)，否認(rèn)了關(guān)于其將縮減中國(guó)業(yè)務(wù)的傳言。近幾周樂(lè)天在中國(guó)的99家大賣(mài)場(chǎng)已關(guān)閉75家，此前其賣(mài)場(chǎng)受到中國(guó)當(dāng)局的監(jiān)管檢查。

South Korea and the US said the anti-missile defence system was needed to thwart a growing threat from North Korea, but China claims Thaad’s radar penetrates far into its territory.

韓國(guó)和美國(guó)表示，該反導(dǎo)彈防御體系對(duì)遏制朝鮮愈演愈烈的威脅是必需的，但中國(guó)聲稱(chēng)薩德的雷達(dá)深入其領(lǐng)土。

“We have seen a recent drop in dealership traffic in China as consumer sentiment towards Korean products overall is low and competitors are initiating special promotions targeting our customers,” Hyundai and Kia said in a joint statement.

現(xiàn)代和起亞在一份聯(lián)合聲明中表示：“我們看到在華經(jīng)銷(xiāo)商交易量最近出現(xiàn)下滑，因?yàn)橄M(fèi)者在總體上對(duì)韓國(guó)產(chǎn)品情緒低迷，且競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手正針對(duì)我們的客戶(hù)開(kāi)展特別促銷(xiāo)活動(dòng)。”

China accounts for more than one-fifth of the carmaker’s sales by volume. Hyundai has four plants in China and a fifth plant in Chongqing is due to come on stream later this year.

中國(guó)占該汽車(chē)制造商銷(xiāo)量五分之一以上?，F(xiàn)代在中國(guó)有四間工廠(chǎng)，今年晚些時(shí)候還將在重慶投產(chǎn)第5間工廠(chǎng)。

Seoul’s Yonhap News said Hyundai also eliminated a second shift from its three factories in Beijing in March.

首爾的韓聯(lián)社(Yonhap News)表示，現(xiàn)代汽車(chē)在3月份取消了北京3家工廠(chǎng)的第二班生產(chǎn)。