韓國汽車制造商在華銷量銳減

China’s backlash over the deployment of a US missile shield is denting sales at South Korean carmakers, amid heightened competition with fast-growing local automakers.

中國對部署美國導彈防御系統(tǒng)的反彈正在影響韓國汽車制造商的銷售，同時中國本土汽車制造商的快速增長加劇了競爭。

Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors, which together rank as the world’s fifth-largest automaker, reported sliding China sales last month and have responded by cutting production in the country.

現代汽車(Hyundai Motor)及其關聯(lián)公司起亞汽車(Kia Motors)——兩者加起來是全球第五大汽車制造商——報告上月在華銷售下滑，并已采取削減在華生產的對策。

Hyundai on Monday reported a 7.8 per cent year-on-year fall in March overseas sales, blaming “weaker sales in China” amid political tension over Seoul’s installation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (Thaad) system. Kia’s overseas sales for March contracted 12.5 per cent year on year.

現代汽車周一報告，3月份海外銷量同比下降7.8%，該公司怪罪于“在華銷售疲軟”，其背景是首爾方面部署末段高空區(qū)域防御系統(tǒng)(THAAD，中文簡稱：薩德)引起政治緊張。起亞3月份海外銷量同比下降12.5%。

The carmaker yesterday said March sales in China fell 52 per cent year-on-year.

該汽車制造商昨日表示3月份在華銷量同比下降52%。

“Things are deteriorating in China for them as anti-Korean sentiment worsens, making Chinese consumers reluctant to buy Korean cars,” said Kim Jin-woo, analyst at Korea Investment & Securities. “A production cut in China seems inevitable one way or another to reduce mounting inventories.”

韓國投資證券公司(Korea Investment & Securities)分析師Kim Jin-woo表示：“隨著反韓情緒加劇，令中國消費者不愿意購買韓國汽車，它們在中國的形勢正在惡化。為緩解不斷積壓的庫存，在中國減產似乎不可避免。”

Hyundai is the latest victim of the diplomatic stand-off between the two nations as Beijing piles pressure on Korean companies with operations in China in protest at the Thaad deployment. Lotte said on Monday it would continue to invest in China, denying rumours that it might scale down Chinese operations. Lotte has closed 75 of its 99 hypermarkets in China in recent weeks, following regulatory inspections by Chinese authorities.

現代汽車是兩國外交對峙的最新受害者，北京對在華經營的韓國企業(yè)施加壓力，以反對薩德部署。樂天(Lotte)周一表示將繼續(xù)投資中國，否認了關于其將縮減中國業(yè)務的傳言。近幾周樂天在中國的99家大賣場已關閉75家，此前其賣場受到中國當局的監(jiān)管檢查。

South Korea and the US said the anti-missile defence system was needed to thwart a growing threat from North Korea, but China claims Thaad’s radar penetrates far into its territory.

韓國和美國表示，該反導彈防御體系對遏制朝鮮愈演愈烈的威脅是必需的，但中國聲稱薩德的雷達深入其領土。

“We have seen a recent drop in dealership traffic in China as consumer sentiment towards Korean products overall is low and competitors are initiating special promotions targeting our customers,” Hyundai and Kia said in a joint statement.

現代和起亞在一份聯(lián)合聲明中表示：“我們看到在華經銷商交易量最近出現下滑，因為消費者在總體上對韓國產品情緒低迷，且競爭對手正針對我們的客戶開展特別促銷活動。”

China accounts for more than one-fifth of the carmaker’s sales by volume. Hyundai has four plants in China and a fifth plant in Chongqing is due to come on stream later this year.

中國占該汽車制造商銷量五分之一以上?，F代在中國有四間工廠，今年晚些時候還將在重慶投產第5間工廠。

Seoul’s Yonhap News said Hyundai also eliminated a second shift from its three factories in Beijing in March.

首爾的韓聯(lián)社(Yonhap News)表示，現代汽車在3月份取消了北京3家工廠的第二班生產。