案例二：Smart 两人座汽车
Case two: Smart Fortwo: One Car for Narrow European
Alleys…and for High U.S. Gasoline Prices
Mercedes-Benz would be a consistently profitable business, had it not been trying to fix its small car business. The Smart, its iconic, but troubled brand, has been in the red ever since its launch in 1998. In 2005, the Smart cost the company more than $2 billion in charges for job losses and cut backs: In the process of restructuring to reduce Smart’s fixed
costs, the company had to cut 600 jobs in Germany and 100 in France. 梅赛德斯-奔驰如果不是试图修复它的小型汽车业务,将是一个持续盈
利业务。The smart,其标志性却有问题的品牌, 在1998年推出曾红极
一时。在2005年,The smart让公司损失超过20亿美元的裁员和失业
费用:重组的过程中减少The smart的固定成本,该公司不得不在德国
和法国100年削减了600个工作岗位。
However, things are looking up for the smart for two. Initially designed as a cute cobble-stone negotiator in crowded European alleys, the little car is planning to help U.S. consumers better negotiate the shrinking gasoline purchasing power of consumers in the land of SUVs. This is a story of market adaptation.
然而, The smart for two情况有所好转。最初谈判者在拥挤的欧洲小巷
将其设计为一个可爱的鹅卵石形状，小型汽车正计划着帮助美国消费
者在SUV更好的商谈消费者汽油的购买力。这是一个故事的市场适
应性。
The Story of Smart
In the world of joint ventures, the smart for two has a distinguished history. The smart fortwo was propelled to stardom in the mini-automobile category in the early 1990s, as a j
oint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Swatch. Daimler is the luxury automobile manufacturer that has created the Mercedes automobile, the worldwide standard for luxury on the road. Swatch is a creative and quirky company that makes Swatches, watches with colorful designs. The smart for two joint venture was created with the purpose of enhancing the Mercedes portfolio with an “ultra-urban” automobile that negotiates well narrow
European alleys, fits neatly on the sidewalk if the parking spaces are all taken, and otherwise makes the driver look good.
梅赛德斯奔驰卡车在世界的合资企业,smart for two有着辉煌的历史。在1990年代早期
smart for two是推动迷你汽车成名,作为一个奔驰和Swatch这样的合
资企业。戴姆勒是豪华汽车制造商,创造了奔驰汽车、全球豪华标准
在路上。Swatch是一个创造性和古怪的公司生产板、手表与彩
丰富的设计。smart fortwo的合资成立目的在于提高奔驰组合与一个
“超级城市”汽车,协商好窄欧洲小巷,可以方便的在人行道上如果停
车位都是采取的措施,否则会使司机看起来不错。
Though small, the smart fortwo protects its passengers well. It has a tridion safety shell, a hard shell that protects occupants in case of impact. It is also equipped with electronic stability control, which prevents it from flipping over, and antilock brakes. It has a high driving position to ensure the greatest visibility on the road. The design team focused on creating an energy efficient automobile using recyclable materials. Compared with the luxury Mercedes line, the smart fortwo is affordable: A two-seat, 9-foot-long smart fortwo costs about $11,000 for the care model, reaching about $15,000 for convertibles. Its gas consumption is 40 miles per gallon, and it reaches 90 miles per hour on the highway. It seats two and is so small that two cars can fit in a traditional parking spot.
The smart fortwo’s problem, however, is that its market performance has been poor. Although Smart’s global sales have grown steadily since its
launch thanks to the introduction of new models, it has consistently missed its targets. The company launched the forfour model to compete in the saturated, highly competitive compact-car segment, but it was quickly discovered that the new model hurt the brand, ultimately resulting in its withdrawal from the market. In a parallel development, the company also intended to build the formore, designed for the U.S. SUV
market. However, after steep losses, coupled with additional problems—Mercedes had to recall 1.3 million vehicles, including its
the company reconsidered its strategy. luxury E-Class—
The Turnaround
At first, Mercedes-Benz had considered eliminating Smart, but quickly determined that it had too much brand franchise and bailing out the brand was the best option from a shareholder point of view.
Its recovery plans included having Mercedes take over purchasing, sales, and service op
erations, and creating a better fit with the needs of European consumers. Smart has been testing several prototype models using alternative fuels, including an electric-powered smart, a compressed natural gas version, and a hybrid model. Smart’s proposition of being the
“ultimate urban solution” will be even more relevant now that more cities in Europe are looking to introduce congestion charging.
The U.S. Launch
The new fortwo model, launched in Europe in 2007, already complies with U.S. safety and emission standards, and plans are to introduce it in
the U.S. in 2008. Smart is not completely without a presence in the U.S. already, however. A company called Zap(zero air pollution), which has no connection to DaimlerChrysler, already started importing the smart starting in 2007, after working for 4 years to make the cars compliant with U.S. regulations.