来自伦敦的问候！上周我去了巴黎，行程非常紧张，这周终于回家补觉了。
Greetings from London! I’m back home this week after a hectic visit to Paris last week and finally catching up on sleep.
不过，我们在本期《Auto File》中要深入探讨的许多内容，其实都是在巴黎车展期间形成的——当时我们一边参加会议，一边努力在法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙严密的安保措施中穿行。
But much of what we'll be digging into in depth in this edition of Auto File came together while we were running around at the show between meetings and trying to navigate our way around French President Emmanuel Macron’s vast security detail!
我们将探讨：在全球最大的、竞争激烈的汽车市场中，欧洲如何成为中国汽车制造商的重要“救命稻草”。
We’ll look at how Europe has become a lifeline for Chinese automakers as a Darwinian period of consolidation comes for the world’s largest, and overcrowded, car market.
此外，越来越多的中国高端汽车品牌开始进军欧洲市场，与拥有丰富历史和经验的本土品牌（如宝马、保时捷、奥迪和梅赛德斯-奔驰）展开竞争。
Also, more of China’s premium car brands are making a play for Europe where they will compete with experienced and heritage-rich local brands BMW, Porsche, Audi and Mercedes.
在开始讨论这些内容之前，需要先告诉大家：下一期《Auto File》将由我们的底特律分社负责人迈克·科利亚斯撰写。他将会参加路透社举办的“Reuters Events Automotive USA”会议，会上将有大众、本田、博世、英伟达等公司的代表发表演讲。
Before we get to all that, just a quick note to let you know that the next edition of Auto File will come to you from our Detroit bureau chief Mike Colias, who will attend the Reuters Events Automotive USA conference — which will feature speakers from Volkswagen, Honda, Bosch, Nvidia and many others.
由于会议将持续几天，下一期的《Auto File》将推迟到周四发布，届时会包含更多独家内容以及迈克在会议现场的精彩见解。
As the conference runs for a couple of days, next week’s Auto File will come to you on Thursday instead of Tuesday, filled with exclusive content and Mike’s expert insights from the sidelines.
现在让我们来看看今天的《Auto File》主题：中国汽车制造商必须打入欧洲市场……特斯拉展示了其先进技术；大众在Xpeng车型上的表现令人失望。上周有创纪录的20家中国汽车品牌参加了巴黎车展，这绝非偶然。
Which brings us to today’s Auto File…China’s automakers must make it in Europe Tesla shows off its tech Volkswagen’s poor start with Xpeng It was no accident that a record 20 Chinese car brands showed up at the Paris car show last week.
欧洲是目前对中国汽车制造商来说最大、最有利可图的市场。由于美国市场对中国汽车制造商关闭了大门，对于那些具有全球抱负的新进入者来说，欧洲市场至关重要。
Europe is the largest, most profitable market open to Chinese automakers. With the US market closed to them, it is crucial to growth for ambitious new players with global aspirations.
对于那些在国内面临巨大压力的中国汽车制造商来说，欧洲同样是一条至关重要的“生命线”。更多详细内容，请点击这里阅读。
The continent is also a vital lifeline for China’s automakers under immense pressure at home. You can read all about it here.
中国的汽车市场竞争异常激烈，有超过100家汽车制造商，多年来人们一直预计行业会迎来整合。
China’s market is overcrowded with over 100 automakers, and consolidation has been widely expected for years.
汽车行业的整合进程一直因复杂的国有产权结构而变得十分复杂：中国政府直接拥有多家汽车制造商，而另一些汽车企业则由省级或市级政府控制。
The prospects for consolidation have always been complicated by the web of state ownership. The national government owns several automakers, whereas others are controlled by provincial or even city governments.
上个月，中国政府启动了一项合并计划，涉及丰田在中国的两家合资企业；根据该计划，国有企业一汽集团（FAW）将成为广汽集团（GAC）的第二大股东。
But the Chinese government made a start last month with a merger deal involving Toyota's two Chinese joint-venture partners, under which state-owned FAW will become GAC’s second-largest shareholder.
分析人士指出，这项合并尤为复杂，因为一汽集团归中国政府直接管辖，而广汽集团则由广东省政府控制；此外，丰田作为外国私营企业也参与了此次合并。
Analysts say the deal is particularly complex because FAW is owned by China's central government while GAC is controlled by Guangdong province. Toyota's involvement adds a foreign private-sector partner to the equation.
预计在未来几年内，中国政府会逐步推动汽车行业的整合，最终只剩下少数几家大型企业存活下来。
Now that it has begun, over the next few years Beijing is expected to gradually push consolidation of the country’s auto industry until only a handful of giants remain.
由于中国汽车市场今年大幅萎缩，并且在未来几年内难以复苏，因此企业要想在整合中生存下来，就必须寻求海外市场的增长机会。因此，进入欧洲市场变得尤为重要。欧盟官员仍在讨论哪些欧洲国家应符合其“欧洲制造”电动汽车的本地化生产要求（这些要求旨在迫使中国汽车制造商在欧盟境内生产汽车）。
With China’s car market down significantly this year and unlikely to recover for years to come, that means outside growth will be vital to surviving the consolidation process. Making it in Europe has thus become even more important. European Union officials are still debating which countries in Europe should qualify for its ‘Made in Europe’ EV local content rules designed to force Chinese automakers to make cars in the bloc.
不过，早在这些本地化生产规定生效之前，多家中国汽车企业就已经开始在欧洲生产汽车。欧洲市场是中国汽车企业获取利润的重要来源；因此，那些成功进入欧洲市场的企业更有可能收购竞争对手，而非在整合中被淘汰。
But several Chinese car companies are already moving at speed to produce cars in the EU long before any local content rules take effect. You can read all about that here. With little to no access to the US market, Europe is where Chinese automakers can get margins. So those that make it here are more likely to take over rivals rather than fall victim to consolidation.
当然，中国汽车企业进军欧洲的行动还包括推出一系列高端品牌，这些品牌旨在吸引富裕的欧洲消费者。这些高端产品都配备了先进的技术，旨在重新定义“奢侈品”的概念。
And of course, part of the latest Chinese push into Europe includes a clutch of premium brands eager to pitch their cars to well-heeled European car buyers. What they are pushing are tech-laden models as they try to redefine luxury.
坦率地说，对于这些新进入欧洲市场的高端品牌来说，这将是一场充满挑战的竞争。
To put it mildly, this will be an uphill climb for the premium newcomers.
与中国消费者偏爱科技而非老牌车企不同，迄今为止，传承一直是欧洲成功的关键。奔驰、宝马、保时捷和奥迪都高度依赖这一点。
Unlike China, where consumers favour tech over established brands, hitherto heritage has been key to success in Europe. Mercedes, BMW, Porsche and Audi all lean on it heavily.
但这并不意味着爱驰等品牌无法攻克欧洲高端汽车市场——爱驰在巴黎车展的宣传视频中，展示了一辆SUV在引擎盖上放着一摞满满的香槟杯的情况下行驶，一滴酒都未洒。
This is not to say that brands like Aito — whose promotional video at the Paris car show featured an SUV driving with a tower of full champagne glasses on the hood without spilling a drop — cannot crack Europe’s premium car market.
中国电动汽车品牌小鹏汽车于2020年进入欧洲市场，预计今年在该大陆销售约5万辆汽车。
Chinese EV brand Xpeng launched in Europe in 2020 and is expected to sell around 50,000 cars on the continent this year.
但正如一位小鹏汽车高管在巴黎对路透社表示，走到这一步需要大量的坚持。
But as one Xpeng executive told Reuters in Paris, getting this far has taken a lot of persistence.