????作為日產(chǎn)汽車（Nissan Motor）旗下的豪車品牌，英菲尼迪（Infiniti）一直以來都在拖后腿。現(xiàn)在日產(chǎn)挖來了原奧迪（Audi）美國分公司的負責(zé)人，或許終于可以讓這個品牌揚眉吐氣了。

????在過去19年里，約翰?德?尼琛一直是奧迪在美國的負責(zé)人。近日，日產(chǎn)CEO卡洛斯?高森將他挖至麾下。尼琛將在英菲尼迪的香港總部負責(zé)該品牌的全球運營。當然，他的任務(wù)里有相當大的一部分，是要使英菲尼迪在全球增長最快的汽車市場——也就是中國——占有一席之地。高森從奧迪挖人其實并沒有什么好奇怪的。“英菲尼迪一直以來都患有‘奧迪嫉妒癥’”，汽車網(wǎng)站Edmunds.com的分析師米歇爾?克雷布斯指出：“奧迪正是英菲尼迪一直想成為的那種年輕、時尚的品牌。另外奧迪也是成功的德系豪華車品牌中的一顆新星。”而英菲尼迪在與豐田（Toyota）的豪車品牌雷克薩斯（Lexus）的競爭中一直落于下風(fēng)。

????評測者一般都會對英菲尼迪給出很高的評價，不過在經(jīng)銷商門店里，英菲尼迪卻沒法吸引富人們像對待梅賽德斯-奔馳（Mercedes）、寶馬（BMW）、奧迪和雷克薩斯（Lexus）那樣一擲千金。英菲尼迪的營銷本來就沒有給人留下什么深刻的印象，現(xiàn)在更是變得松散無力。

????德?尼琛曾經(jīng)帶領(lǐng)困境重重的美國奧迪實現(xiàn)復(fù)興，他完成了他的前任們都沒能完成的任務(wù)。尼琛的美國奧迪復(fù)興之路離不開系統(tǒng)的規(guī)劃和執(zhí)行，這個案例將來很可能會成為汽車高管們研究的對象。雖然在奧迪的老家歐洲，奧迪一直被視為與寶馬和奔馳同一檔次的品牌，但就在距今不久之前，奧迪在美國的認知度還頗為有限。尼琛堪稱是奧迪在美國實現(xiàn)品牌重塑的總戰(zhàn)略設(shè)計師。

????外界認為尼琛是一位固執(zhí)的、毫不妥協(xié)的管理者，這樣的個性未必會受美國經(jīng)銷商的喜歡。比如一般來說，經(jīng)銷商要求的車型數(shù)量總是多于公司想要提供的數(shù)量。但是在尼琛的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下，美國奧迪決定小心地控制奧迪的稀缺性和增長速度，以便保持品牌的高端地位，避免出現(xiàn)通用凱迪拉克（Cadillac）和福特林肯（Lincoln）那種因為打折而損害銷量的事。

????在上世紀80年代末，由于有車主指責(zé)奧迪的旗艦車型奧迪5000存在突然加速的隱患，因而在6年的時間里，奧迪在美銷量驟跌80%以上。事實上相關(guān)指責(zé)從來沒有被證實過，不過奧迪還是增加了一些相應(yīng)的安全配置，并且調(diào)整了踏板的布局。因為據(jù)說在此之前，奧迪車的踏板總是讓駕駛員覺得他的腳正踩在剎車上，而不是踩在油門上。

????By poaching the head of Audi in the U.S., Nissan Motor may finally have found the key executive to lead the turnaround of Infiniti, the Japanese automaker's perennially lagging luxury division.

????Johan de Nysschen, who ran Audi in the U.S. for the last 19 years, was recruited by none other than Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's magnetic CEO. De Nysschen will run Infiniti worldwide from its new Hong Kong headquarters. Not surprisingly, a big part of his mission to make Infiniti relevant in the world's biggest automotive growth market, China.

????That Ghosn would pluck somebody for the German automaker is not much of a surprise. "Infiniti has had 'Audi envy' forever," said Michelle Krebs, automotive analyst for Edmunds.com, an automotive website. "Audi is the younger, hipper brand that Infiniti has wanted to be. Audi also was the upstart among the more successful German luxury brands," just as Infiniti has been an also-ran to Lexus, Toyota's luxury division.

????Reviewers have often rated Infiniti models highly, though no one at the franchise has ever been able to unlock the intangibles of prestige and desirability that motivate well-heeled buyers to pay the same high prices captured by Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Lexus. Infiniti marketing has careened from forgettable to incoherent.

????Enter De Nysschen, who led the resurgence of a troubled Audi after predecessors floundered. He led a methodically planned and executed renaissance of the brand in the U.S. which is likely to be a case study for future automotive executives. Though in its native Europe Audi has long been seen in league with BMW and Mercedes-Benz, in America its perception until recently lagged. De Nysschen was the architect of a grand strategy that remedied that.

????De Nysschen is known as a tenacious and uncompromising manager, not necessarily a favorite of U.S. dealers. For instance, dealers routinely demanded more Audis and different models than what the company was willing to supply. But Audi, under De Nysschen's guidance, has determined to control scarcity and growth meticulously so as to maintain the brand's prestige status and avoid the discounting that has hurt franchises like General Motors' (GM) Cadillac and Ford's (F) Lincoln.

????During a six-year period in the late 1980s, Audi's sales in the U.S. plunged more than 80% amid accusations that its flagship Audi 5000 was prone to unintended acceleration. The accusations were never confirmed, though Audi added some safety features as a result and changed the placement of foot pedals that were thought to lead some drivers to assume their foot was on the brake rather than the accelerator.