沃爾沃寄望用新車打造全新企業

Six millimetres. It doesn’t sound much, but to Volvo engineers, it was crucial and they fought hard over those few millimetres.

6毫米聽起來不算什麼，但對沃爾沃(Volvo)的工程師們來說卻至關重要——他們爲了這短短几毫米打了一場苦仗。

That is how much less the front overhang – the distance between the front bumper and the wheel – is on the new Volvo XC90 compared with its rival SUV from Germany’s BMW, according to the Swedish carmaker.

根據這家瑞典汽車製造商的說法，沃爾沃全新XC90車型的前懸，即前保險槓與前車輪的距離，就比寶馬(BMW)的同類SUV短了足足6毫米。

“We really wanted to beat BMW,” says Dennis Nobelius, head of the XC90 project at Volvo. It sounds silly but there is a huge difference. Those are the kind of things you never understand but make a huge difference [on what is] premium.

沃爾沃XC90項目負責人丹尼斯•諾貝利葉斯(Dennis Nobelius)表示：“我們真的想打敗寶馬。這聽起來很愚蠢，但6毫米是很大的差異。這種事情你永遠沒法理解，但它對於產品的優越性卻有很大影響。”

The XC90 is Volvo’s most important product launch in many years. Not only is the SUV the first vehicle since Geely, the Chinese carmaker, acquired Volvo, it also follows $11bn of investment in new components and factories.

新一代XC90將是沃爾沃多年來推出的最重要產品。這款SUV不僅是沃爾沃被中國汽車製造商吉利(Geely)收購以來推出的第一款車型，而且在該車推出之前，沃爾沃在新零部件及工廠設施方面投資了110億美元。

In a series of interviews with senior Volvo executives, an oft-repeated refrain was that the Swedish carmaker was not just launching a new model, but a new company as well.

在沃爾沃高管接受的一系列採訪中，一個反覆出現的說法是，這家瑞典制造商不止是推出一款新車型，還是在打造一家全新的企業。

Alain Visser, head of marketing, says: “This is more than just a new car. It’s almost like a relaunch of the brand.”

市場營銷主管阿蘭•維塞(Alain Visser)表示：“這不止是一款新車。這差不多像是重新推出了新的品牌。”

Under Ford, the US carmaker that owned it from 1999 to 2010, Volvo shared platforms, engines and components with cars such as the Taurus and Focus.

1999年至2010年在美國福特(Ford)旗下時，沃爾沃曾與金牛座(Taurus)、福克斯(Focus)等轎車共享過製造平臺、發動機及各種零部件。

Now it has spent $11bn developing its own platform – known as SPA, or scalable product architecture – for use in all its big cars as well as new four-cylinder engines and many new components.

如今，沃爾沃投資110億美元開發了自己的製造平臺——“可擴展產品架構”(scalable product architecture)。這個SPA平臺將被用於生產沃爾沃全部大型轎車、新的四缸發動機以及許多新的零部件。

“We are breaking all the automotive golden rules: we are doing a new architecture with a new vehicle with a new powertrain, new electrification,” says Peter Mertens, head of research and development. “But we have to do it.”

沃爾沃研發負責人彼得•默滕斯(Peter Mertens)表示：“我們正在打破關於汽車的所有黃金法則：我們在採用新的架構，生產擁有新傳動系統、新電汽化系統的全新車型。但是我們必須這麼做。”

Mr Nobelius calls it Volvo’s “all-in car – the one where we put everything in”.

諾貝利葉斯將新一代XC90稱爲沃爾沃的“集大成車型(all-in car)——該車集中了沃爾沃的一切”。

The size of the front overhang is indicative of Volvo’s desire to fight against the big luxury carmakers: the German triumvirate of Audi, BMW and Mercedes.

新款XC90的前懸距離表明，沃爾沃想要對抗各大豪華車製造商，也就是德國的三巨頭：奧迪(Audi)、寶馬和梅賽德斯-奔馳(Mercedes-Benz)。

Volvo has long been the nearly man of the premium carmakers, caught in price in the no-man’s-land between mass-market and luxury manufacturers and selling only about a quarter of the number of cars as the Germans.

長期以來，沃爾沃在一衆高端汽車製造商中間都不太出類拔萃，其價格處於大衆車型與豪華車型之間的“無人地帶”，銷量則只有這些德國品牌的大約四分之一。

The XC90 is designed to show Volvo’s new confidence under Chinese ownership.

新款XC90意在展示沃爾沃在中國人控股下的新自信。

The SUV has a new, bigger front grille and its logo has been subtly redesigned. The front headlights are in a distinctive shape known as “Thor’s Hammer”.

這款SUV擁有新的、更大的前護柵，標識也有細微改動。前大燈被設計成一種與衆不同的形狀，這種形狀被稱爲“雷神之錘(Thor's Hammer)”。

Inside much work has been spent on a touchscreen iPad-like device that now controls the music, air-conditioning and telephone functions. The old XC90 had 60 buttons; the new one has just eight.

在內飾方面，沃爾沃精心打造了一個類似iPad的觸摸屏設備，用其控制音樂、空調及電話等功能。舊款XC90內部有60個按鈕，而新XC90只有8個按鈕。

Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo’s chief executive, says the touchscreen solution is part of the way the Gothenburg-based carmaker is trying to find its own particular segment of the luxury market.

沃爾沃首席執行官霍坎•薩穆埃爾鬆(Håkan Samuelsson)表示，觸屏方案是沃爾沃尋找自身在豪車市場獨特定位的一種方式。

A focus on technology is taken by Audi, BMW concentrates on performance, while Mercedes has gone for luxury.

奧迪關注技術，寶馬重視性能，梅賽德斯則追求奢豪。

He says Volvo wants to stand for environmental performance, safety and design – with the latter perhaps most surprising for a carmaker known decades ago for its boxy finish.

他說沃爾沃希望成爲環保、安全和時尚的代名詞——其中最讓人意外的或許是時尚，要知道幾十年前沃爾沃還以盒子般的外觀而著稱。

“Everybody knows Volvo is a good car, a safe car.”

“每個人都知道沃爾沃車好、安全。但它爲何不能變得誘人、引人注目，並且好看？”