????自動駕駛汽車所帶來的好處還體現(xiàn)在將來。到時候交通會變得更加順暢，燃油經(jīng)濟性進一步提高，交通事故不再頻發(fā)。總有一天，汽車將不再需要防撞鋼梁和安全氣囊。卡洛斯?高森認為，總有一天，自動駕駛汽車不僅能實現(xiàn)零排放，還能實現(xiàn)車禍零死亡。

????雖然日產(chǎn)公司的電動汽車迄今尚未在認可度和銷量上取得豐收，但日產(chǎn)還是義無反顧地跳到了自動駕駛汽車的研發(fā)上。自從該公司于2010年12月推出聆風電動汽車以來，這款電池動力車型在美國已經(jīng)售出了30000輛，但是日產(chǎn)設在田納西州的工廠擁有超過這個數(shù)字好幾倍的生產(chǎn)能力。消費者表示經(jīng)常因為“里程焦慮癥”感到頭痛，也就是擔心車還沒有開到地方，電池就已經(jīng)沒電了。雖然今年年初聆風的車價下調了6400美元，但是直到七月底，這款車只在美國賣出了11703臺。

????雖然聆風的慘淡銷量可能讓日產(chǎn)高管覺得不安，但他們并沒有流露出來。而且他們表示，聆風對提升日產(chǎn)公司的形象起了積極作用，這一點可以通過交易價格的提升反映出來。2009年，日產(chǎn)公司發(fā)布了麥肯錫公司（McKinsey）的一份調查報告，把日產(chǎn)的車型在各個細分市場和地區(qū)市場上的交易價格與同級別表現(xiàn)最佳的車型做了對比。結果發(fā)現(xiàn)，由于日產(chǎn)公司各車型的價格比后者更低，導致日產(chǎn)公司每年要損失60億美元。但是在過去四年里，日產(chǎn)通過推出新產(chǎn)品、做大做強經(jīng)銷商網(wǎng)絡以及推出聆風等先進技術，已經(jīng)把這個差距縮小到了40億美元。

????日產(chǎn)公司希望通過繼續(xù)在全系產(chǎn)品中使用具有可辨識度的設計語言，進一步摘掉“折扣品牌”的帽子。今天你大概不會想到，外型典雅美觀的中級轎車天籟與難看的樓蘭敞篷車和詭異的Juke跨界車系出同門。下一步，日產(chǎn)還在各款產(chǎn)品塑造相像的家族式外觀，最近日產(chǎn)公布的2015款Maxima設計草圖中的轎跑式外觀就證明了這一點。

????日產(chǎn)高管也承認最近五年公司在美國市場上的表現(xiàn)令人失望。但是他們相信，除了設計之外，公司還有很多促進美國市場銷量的機會。比如美版軒逸Sentra在美國的售價還不到緊湊型市場冠軍本田（Honda）思域的一半。另外日產(chǎn)2004年引入美國的全尺寸皮卡Titan雖然在當年引起了轟動，但現(xiàn)在基本上已經(jīng)不入購者車的法眼。如果日產(chǎn)要實現(xiàn)在美國市場10%的占有率目標，就必須要在所有領域都進行改進。目前日產(chǎn)只占據(jù)了8%的美國市場，落后于底特律三巨頭、豐田（Toyota ）、本田和現(xiàn)代/起亞（Hyundai/Kia），排名第七位。日產(chǎn)公司相信，從現(xiàn)在的增長率和產(chǎn)品節(jié)奏來看，未來幾年內是可以實現(xiàn)10%的目標的。

????2012年財年，日產(chǎn)在全球市場共賣出7930萬輛汽車，占據(jù)了全球市場6.2%的份額。卡洛斯?高森聲稱，到2016財年結束時（也就是2017年3月31日），公司在全球市場上的份額將達到8%（銷售利潤也將達到8%），其中一個重要的推力是營銷。比如最近日產(chǎn)公司聘請了奧運短跑冠軍博爾特為GT-R跑車做全球代言。這個廣告在全球幾十個機場都能看到，也就是說如果你從香港起飛到倫敦，你在兩地機場看到的GT-R廣告是一樣的。另外日產(chǎn)也開始在大型賽會上投放廣告，比如英菲尼迪進入F1方程式、日產(chǎn)贊助2016年里約奧運會等，這一切都是為了提高日產(chǎn)在全球主要市場上的曝光度。

????日產(chǎn)的一位高管說：“從我們1999年剛與雷諾結盟時每年只能賣200萬輛汽車，到現(xiàn)在年均銷售近500萬輛。在這個過程中，我們沒有一直擴大營銷資源以與銷量保持同步，但現(xiàn)在我們正在做這件事。”而這次重金邀請900名國內外記者親手試駕124輛汽車（以及試乘一輛自動駕駛汽車）就是一個典型的例子。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：樸成奎??

????The real payoff from self-driving cars lies further in the future. Traffic will move more smoothly, fuel will be consumed more economically, and accidents will occur less often, leading to a day when side panel safety beams can be removed and airbags become obsolete. Ghosn foresees a day when autonomous cars are responsible not only for zero emissions but also zero fatalities.

????Still, Nissan is taking the plunge into AVs at a time when its bet on EVs -- electric vehicles --has yet to pay off in acceptance or sales. The company has sold 30,000 battery-powered Leafs in the U.S since they were introduced in December 2010 but has the capacity to manufacture several times that number at its plant in Tennessee. Customer response has been restrained by range anxiety, the uncertainly that arises out of fear that the battery will discharge before the destination is reached. Despite cutting Leaf prices $6,400 at the beginning of the year, Nissan had sold just 11,703 in through July.

????If they are fazed by the Leaf's slow sales, Nissan executives aren't showing it, and they claim the car has helped lift Nissan's image with customers in a way that is reflected in higher transaction prices. In 2009, the company commissioned a McKinsey study that measured the revenue gap between Nissan and best-in-class vehicles across different segments and markets. It found that lower transaction prices were costing Nissan $6 billion annually. Over the past four years, Nissan has narrowed that gap by around $4 billion with new products, an enhanced dealer network, and advanced technology like the Leaf.

????Going forward, Nissan hopes to further rid itself of the "discount brand" label by using identifiable design executions consistently across its product lines. Today, you wouldn't think that the elegant Altima sedan shared parentage with the awkward Murano convertible or the truly bizarre Juke crossover. That's going to change as Nissan creates thematic similarities among models, and it released an impressionistic sketch of the 2015 Maxima with coupe-like styling to prove its point.

????Besides design, Nissan executives believe there are numerous opportunities to boost sales in the U.S. after what they concede are five years of disappointing performance. Two obvious subjects: the Sentra, a homely compact that sells at less than half the rate of Honda Civic, the segment leader; and the Titan full-size pickup, which was introduced with great fanfare in 2004 but is still little more than an afterthought for truck buyers. Improvement in all areas is essential if Nissan is to reach its goal of attaining 10% of the U.S. market. It currently stands at 8%, leaving it in seventh place beyond the Detroit Three,Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC), and Hyundai/Kia. Nissan believes its 10% goal is reachable within the next several years, given its current rate of growth and product cadence.

????Globally Nissan finished fiscal year 2012 with a 6.2% share of a 79.3 million unit global market, and Ghosn pledges to reach 8% market share (and 8% return on sales) by the end of fiscal year 2016 on March 31, 2017. A big part of the push will come from a new emphasis on marketing. For instance, Nissan put in place a global advertising campaign for the Nissan GT-R, leveraging a collaboration with Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt. This campaign appears in dozens of international airports around the world, so when you depart from Hong Kong and arrive in London, the GT-R advertisement you see from Nissan is identical. It has also taken to engaging in big ticket marketing programs -- like Infiniti's entry in Formula One and its sponsorship of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio -- to better raise Nissan's visibility in key markets around the world.

????Says one executive: "As we've expanded from a company that sold 2 million vehicles a year in 1999 when we formed the alliance with Renault, to one that now sells nearly 5 million vehicles, we haven't always increased our marketing resource to stay in step with our sales. Now we're doing this" -- as 900 international journalists experienced first-hand by driving 124 cars and riding in one.