????盡管中國(guó)的汽車市場(chǎng)有所降溫，但福特汽車公司仍然在中國(guó)看到了巨大的商機(jī)。這些商機(jī)并非位于中國(guó)的特大城市，而是蘊(yùn)藏在廣大中小城鎮(zhèn)之中。

????福特CEO馬克·菲爾茲在7月28日的收益電話會(huì)議上表示：“很明顯，市場(chǎng)在減速。”福特發(fā)現(xiàn)商用車的銷量跌幅超過(guò)了乘用車，這是市場(chǎng)放緩的象征。盡管這給汽車價(jià)格帶來(lái)了壓力，但菲爾茲認(rèn)為福特必須正確看待中國(guó)市場(chǎng)及其當(dāng)前的市場(chǎng)環(huán)境。

????菲爾茲指出：“中國(guó)是目前全球最大的市場(chǎng)。根據(jù)我們的預(yù)測(cè)，中國(guó)汽車市場(chǎng)在今后5到10年的時(shí)間里還將增加大約3000萬(wàn)臺(tái)汽車。我們?nèi)匀环浅？春弥袊?guó)市場(chǎng)?！?/p>

????福特將很大一部分的增長(zhǎng)寄望于所謂的三線到六線城市，也就是那些離農(nóng)村人口更近，且生機(jī)勃勃的小城鎮(zhèn)。而北京、上海、廣州、深圳被視為一線城市。

????三線以下城市一般沒(méi)有京滬廣深等大城市那樣嚴(yán)格的限制。在北京、廣州、杭州、上海、深圳、天津等城市，為了減少汽車造成的污染，政府已經(jīng)推出限購(gòu)令，有意購(gòu)車的消費(fèi)者只能按月“搖號(hào)”，搖到號(hào)的人才能購(gòu)買汽車。

????菲爾茲在收益電話會(huì)議上表示，今年福特新指定的經(jīng)銷商有85%分布在三線到六線城市。今年第二季度，中國(guó)三到六線城市的零售額增長(zhǎng)率達(dá)到了一二線城市的一倍以上。

????總體來(lái)看，這個(gè)季度可以說(shuō)是福特自2000年以來(lái)最好的一個(gè)季度。今年二季度，福特的凈收入比去年同期飆升了44%。在當(dāng)季19億美元的凈利潤(rùn)中，有相當(dāng)一部分要?dú)w功于福特在北美地區(qū)的高銷量。

????福特在世界其他地區(qū)的業(yè)績(jī)則參差不齊。如果刨掉北美地區(qū)，福特本季度在所有其他國(guó)家和地區(qū)的盈虧基本持平，略好于去年同期。

????今年第二季度，福特在歐洲虧損了1400萬(wàn)美元，在中東和非洲虧損了4600萬(wàn)美元。福特在南美也虧損了1.85億美元——不過(guò)歸功于更高的凈定價(jià)，這個(gè)水平還是要好于去年同期。在本周二與分析師的電話會(huì)議上，福特財(cái)務(wù)總監(jiān)鮑伯·尚克斯稱，南美地區(qū)是一個(gè)“艱苦的環(huán)境”，特別是巴西，雖然福特已經(jīng)在那里占據(jù)了一定的市場(chǎng)份額。

????今年第二季度，盡管中國(guó)汽車行業(yè)的銷售額有所降低，但福特在亞太地區(qū)的利潤(rùn)還是達(dá)到了創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的1.92億美元，運(yùn)營(yíng)利潤(rùn)達(dá)到8%。福特已經(jīng)將中國(guó)市場(chǎng)2015年的銷量預(yù)期由此前的2450萬(wàn)至2650輛轎車和卡車下調(diào)至2300萬(wàn)至2400萬(wàn)輛。隨著福特將開(kāi)拓重點(diǎn)轉(zhuǎn)向限制更少的中小城市，未來(lái)幾個(gè)季度，它的銷量數(shù)字可能將進(jìn)一步增長(zhǎng)。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：樸成奎

????審校：任文科

????Even as automotive sales in China cool, Ford sees big opportunity. And it’s not in the megacities, but in the country’s smaller locales.

????“It’s clear we’ve seen a market slowdown,” CEO Mark Fields said during an earnings call Tuesday. Ford F 1.92% saw commercial vehicle sales fall further than passenger vehicles, an indication of a slowing market. While it’s putting pressure on prices, Fields says it’s important to put China and its current market conditions into perspective.

????“It’s the biggest market in the world right now,” Fields says. “By our forecasts it’s going to grow to about 30 million vehicles in the next 5 to 10 years. We’re still very bullish on China.”

????The U.S. automaker is seeing larger percentage growths in so-called tier 3 to 6 cities, burgeoning, smaller metro areas that are located closer to rural populations. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, known as the big four, are considered tier 1 cities.

????Tier 3 to tier 6 cities don’t have the same restrictions as the largest metropolitan areas such as Beijing. In certain Chinese cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Tianjin, regulations have been put in place to limit the number of cars an individual can own in an effort to reduce pollution. Prospective owners in the country can only acquire a license plate through a monthly lottery system.

????This year, 85% of Ford’s dealer appointments are going to be in tier 3 through 6 cities, Fields said in an earnings call Tuesday. In the second quarter, wholesales in those tier 3 through 6 cities were more than double percentage increases than in tier 1 and 2 cities, Fields says.

????Overall, Ford had its best quarter since 2000. Net income skyrocketed 44% in the second quarter from the same period a year earlier. Much of the company’s $1.9 billion in net profit was driven by high sales volume in North America.

????Sales in the rest of the world were mixed. Taking all of Ford’s operations outside of North America collectively, they broke even in the second quarter and improved from the previous period.

????Ford lost $14 million in Europe and $46 million in the Middle East and Africa. Ford also saw a $185 million loss in South America—an improvement thanks to higher net pricing. In a call with analysts Tuesday, CFO Bob Shanks described South America, particularly a Brazil, a tough environment, although it gained market share there.

????The Asia-Pacific region had a record profit of $192 million and an operating margin of 8%, despite lower industry sales in China. Ford did lower its 2015 sales expectations for China to 23 to 24 million vehicles, down from a previous projection of 24.5 million to 26.5 million cars and trucks. The company’s focus on smaller cities with fewer restrictions may boost numbers even further in coming quarters.