今年晚些時候，沃爾沃在美國國內(nèi)生產(chǎn)的第一批轎車就將上市了。但可以預(yù)見的是，沃爾沃并不會將“國產(chǎn)化”作為吸引美國消費者的賣點。

2010年，沃爾沃被中國的吉利汽車集團收購。近年來，沃爾沃斥資11億美元，在美國南卡羅萊納州查爾斯頓市西北35英里處的里奇維爾建設(shè)了一座工廠，并在這里啟動了S60中型家轎的生產(chǎn)線。

不過沃爾沃美國分公司的總裁兼CEO安德斯·古斯塔夫松日前向《財富》雜志表示：等到11月S60在美國上市時，公司并不會特意強調(diào)它的“美國制造”血統(tǒng)。他表示，當下特朗普政府正在努力改善北美地區(qū)的貿(mào)易關(guān)系，鑒于政治氣候比較敏感，“我們不會特地強調(diào)汽車的產(chǎn)地?！?/p>

此次，沃爾沃打算重點宣傳這款車型的安全性、舒適性和奢華性——它是當前汽車市場上唯一一款安裝了按摩座椅的車型。沃爾沃的發(fā)言人吉姆·尼科爾斯表示：“沃爾沃就是沃爾沃，不管它是在哪里制造的?！?/p>

雖說特朗普政府致力于改革北美自由貿(mào)易協(xié)定，以將更多產(chǎn)業(yè)和就業(yè)機會留在美國，但汽車公司往往嚴重依賴復(fù)雜的跨國供應(yīng)鏈，因此特別容易受到政策變化的影響。比如特朗普政府最近倡議，在墨西哥和加拿大生產(chǎn)的汽車，其使用的零部件應(yīng)有不低于75%來自北美地區(qū)，較目前北美自由貿(mào)易協(xié)定規(guī)定的62.5%有較大幅度上升。特朗普政府還建議對從加拿大和墨西哥進口的免稅汽車施加數(shù)量限額，并要求至少有一定比例的汽車零部件廠商發(fā)給工人的時薪不應(yīng)少于16美元。

特朗普政府提議的這些改革，將使汽車廠商面臨兩難處境：如果將汽車產(chǎn)地轉(zhuǎn)移到美國，則必然面臨成本上漲的問題，從而侵蝕企業(yè)利潤；而將工廠放在加拿大和墨西哥，再將成車向美國出口，則會受關(guān)稅影響，使其無法與在美國生產(chǎn)的車型競爭。

特朗普政府之所以要讓汽車廠商產(chǎn)生這種恐慌，就是為了刺激歐洲和亞洲的車企在北美地區(qū)設(shè)立工廠。雖然在最近10年左右的時間里，包括寶馬、奔馳和日產(chǎn)在內(nèi)的多家車企紛紛在美國東南部設(shè)立了工廠，但最近也有十幾家車企在墨西哥設(shè)立了工廠，以削減勞動力和生產(chǎn)成本。

第三代沃爾沃S60轎車的起售價為3.58萬美元，預(yù)計將與寶馬3系、奧迪A4、奔馳C級、英菲尼迪Q50和雷克薩斯IS等車型展開競爭。

南卡羅萊納工廠生產(chǎn)的半數(shù)汽車將出口至歐洲、中國和南美等地。沃爾沃還計劃進一步擴大該工廠的生產(chǎn)規(guī)模，從2019年開始生產(chǎn)V60旅行車，從2021年開始生產(chǎn)XC90全尺寸SUV。

沃爾沃的這家工廠離寶馬的全球最大工廠——斯帕坦堡工廠不遠。不過在南卡羅萊納州設(shè)廠，并非就是萬事大吉了。中國是沃爾沃的最大單一市場。特朗普政府建議對中國出口產(chǎn)品加征25%的關(guān)稅，這必然會導(dǎo)致中國對美國出口汽車加征報復(fù)性關(guān)稅。

密歇根大學(xué)羅斯商學(xué)院的商業(yè)經(jīng)濟與公共政策學(xué)教授凱爾·漢德里認為：“早在特朗普發(fā)動貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)之前很久，沃爾沃就開始規(guī)劃和建設(shè)這個工廠了，所以該工廠的新車下線并不能說明沃爾沃對貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)的樂觀或悲觀態(tài)度。如果說貿(mào)易戰(zhàn)對它有什么影響的話，那影響肯定是在當前或未來的生產(chǎn)規(guī)模上?！?/p>

沃爾沃從三年前開始翻新自己的產(chǎn)品線，目前該品牌呈現(xiàn)出快速增長之勢。今年前九個月，沃爾沃在美國市場的銷量增長了30%。

沃爾沃最新推出的“Care by Volvo”購車服務(wù)也受到了車主的歡迎。消費者只需繳納一筆固定的月租費（包含保險和保養(yǎng)費用），12個月后便可獲得車輛的所有權(quán)。目前這種全新的“以租代購”模式僅支持緊湊型的XC40車型。該模式推出后僅四個月便達到了全年的銷量目標。沃爾沃表示，“Care by Volvo”服務(wù)的很多客戶都是沃爾沃的新客戶。

古斯塔夫松表示，S60轎車上市后暫時不支持這種“以租代購”模式。不過沃爾沃計劃給這款車型添加足夠的豪華配置，以免它被租車公司盯上。畢竟一款車型如果成為租車公司的常用車型，就一定會對它的聲譽和轉(zhuǎn)售價值產(chǎn)生影響?！拔覀円呀?jīng)制定了一個戰(zhàn)略，讓它絕對不會成為一款用來租的車?！保ㄘ敻恢形木W(wǎng)）

譯者：樸成奎

When Volvo’s first American-made car reaches dealerships later this year, the Swedish automaker won’t flaunt the homegrown angle to U.S. consumers.

Owned by Chinese auto conglomerate Geely since 2010, Volvo Cars is gearing up to build its revamped S60 midsize sedan at its new U.S. factory, a $1.1 billion plant in Ridgeville, S.C., 35 miles northwest of Charleston.

But Anders Gustafsson, president and CEO of Volvo Car USA, told Fortune that the car’s marketing message won’t emphasize its Made-in-America credentials when it arrives in showrooms in November. “We will take away focus on where the cars are built,” he said, citing a sensitive political climate amid the Trump administration’s efforts to revamp North American trade relations.

Instead, the company plans to highlight the sedan’s safety, comfort, and status as the only car in its segment to include massaging seats. “A Volvo is a Volvo no matter where it is built,” said spokesman Jim Nichols.

As President Donald Trump seeks to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement and bring jobs and industry to the U.S., automotive companies that rely upon complex multinational supply chains remain especially vulnerable to policy changes. The administration’s latest proposal requires that 75% of the components for vehicles built in Mexico and Canada come from North America, up from 62.5% under the current NAFTA agreement. The plan also caps the number of vehicles that can be imported from Canada and Mexico without tariffs and requires that a certain share of auto parts comes from factories that pay workers at least $16 per hour.

The proposed changes leave manufactures in a catch-22: Moving production to the U.S. could increase costs and erode profits, while tariffs on vehicles exported from Mexico and Canada could eat into their market share as they lose sales to American-made models.

The specter of rising costs and showroom retail prices is designed to incentivize European and Asian car companies to set up production in North America. Though companies including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Nissan have moved some overseas operations to the southeast U.S. over the past decade or so, recently about a dozen automakers have also opened plants in Mexico to cut labor and production costs.

Starting at $35,800, the third-generation Volvo S60 is priced to compete against other midsize sedans such as the BMW 3-Series, Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Infiniti Q50, and Lexus IS.

Half of the vehicles made at Volvo’s South Carolina factory will be exported to markets including Europe, China and South America. The automaker plans to expand production to begin building its V60 wagon in 2019 and XC90 full-size SUV in 2021.

But setting up shop in South Carolina, not far from BMW’s largest global plant in Spartanburg, isn’t a cure-all. The Trump administration’s proposed 25% tariff on Chinese imports could also prompt a backlash against U.S.-built vehicles exported to China, Volvo’s largest market.

“Because Volvo planned and built this factory long before Trump started a trade war, the fact they are now rolling cars off the line doesn’t signal much about their optimism or lack thereof,” said Kyle Handley, assistant professor of business economics and public policy at University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. “If there are any effects of the trade war, it will be on the scale of current and future production.”

Volvo, which began refurbishing its lineup three years ago, is undergoing a growth spurt, with U.S. sales up 30% for the first nine months of the year.

Its new Care by Volvo subscription service has also proved popular. The program offers a flat monthly rate that includes insurance and maintenance and allows customers to trade in their car after 12 months. The plan, which is currently available only for Volvo’s XC40 compact crossover, sold its projected annual volume within the first four months. Volvo says most Care by Volvo customers are new to the brand.

Though the S60 will not be sold under the subscription model initially, Volvo plans to load it with enough luxuries to keep it out of bareboned rental fleets, which can lower a car’s prestige and resale value, according to Gustafsson. “We have a strategy that this car will absolutely not be a rental car.”