????沃爾沃汽車（Volvo）借這次推出全尺寸跨界車XC90，向奪回美國和全球市場份額的目標邁出一大步。該車也是中國浙江吉利汽車（Geely）自2010年從福特汽車（Ford Motor）手中收購這家瑞典汽車制造商以來，交出的第一份成績單。

????這款由全新設計的四缸發(fā)動機驅(qū)動的7座豪車，將與雷克薩斯（Lexus）RX350，寶馬（BMW）X5和雪佛蘭（Chevrolet）Tahoe等車型展開競爭。于美國的沃爾沃經(jīng)銷商而言，這款車型至關(guān)重要。他們曾眼睜睜地看著福特由于經(jīng)濟困難以18億美元的價格出售沃爾沃，隨后該品牌的汽車銷量便開始直線下滑。

????沃爾沃汽車高管表示，自福特汽車于2000年從沃爾沃集團（Volvo Group）手中收購沃爾沃汽車以來，XC90是他們以一家獨立公司的身份開發(fā)的第一款車型。沃爾沃與浙江吉利的合作側(cè)重于資金層面，吉利允許其瑞典合作方獨立研發(fā)汽車。

????沃爾沃汽車董事長兼CEO哈坎?薩繆爾森在斯德哥爾摩的新車推介會上表示：“這是我們公司歷史上最重要的日子之一。我們不僅僅是發(fā)布一款汽車，我們正在重啟這一品牌。”

????在福特汽車的管理下，沃爾沃曾經(jīng)在美國創(chuàng)下大約14萬的年銷量，但隨后跌至6萬左右，這使得大約300家美國經(jīng)銷商出售或放棄了他們的銷售特許權(quán)。沃爾沃汽車高管表示，公司為XC90研發(fā)的新型SPA（可擴展整車平臺架構(gòu)），將成為許多新轎車和旅行車的開發(fā)平臺。

????在億萬富翁創(chuàng)始人李書福的領(lǐng)導下，浙江吉利希望沃爾沃在中國的銷量能夠有所增長，同時借助沃爾沃在技術(shù)、營銷和設計上的專長，提高吉利自身品牌的汽車性能。

????李書福是一位工程學畢業(yè)生，喜愛詩歌。他于1986年白手起家，創(chuàng)立了冰箱生產(chǎn)商吉利（在中文中，“吉利”意味著“好運”）。該公司隨后轉(zhuǎn)戰(zhàn)摩托車領(lǐng)域，并最終開始生產(chǎn)汽車。吉利原來的目標是將汽車出口到美國——吉利投資110億美元使沃爾沃重現(xiàn)生機，并研發(fā)出XC90，就這個意義而言，他們已經(jīng)完成了這一壯舉。

????XC90的起售價大約為4.8萬美元，將作為2016款車型于明年春天在美國上市。

????沃爾沃汽車成立于1927年，被福特收購前是一個針對性很強的小眾品牌，以我行我素的設計風格和極具創(chuàng)新的安全特性聞名于世。這家汽車制造商希望以XC90贏回曾經(jīng)的聲譽。該車獨具的某些電子功能，比如自適應巡航控制系統(tǒng)和前方的防撞系統(tǒng)，將避免交通事故的發(fā)生，而不僅是讓乘客在事故中受傷更輕，更容易存活下來。

????沃爾沃汽車高管表示，他們的目標是，到2020年，每年在全球售出80萬輛汽車。這大約是公司現(xiàn)在銷量的四倍——這的確是一個雄心勃勃的目標。

????而更宏偉，甚至可能難以想象的目標是，沃爾沃打算到2020年讓其新款汽車的所有乘客都不會因為車禍而死亡或重傷，這些汽車將配備最先進的安全措施。

????對于豐田（Toyota）和大眾（Volkswagen）這類大型汽車制造商而言，沃爾沃的復蘇影響不大，吸引不了他們的注意力。而處于萌芽期的中國汽車業(yè)和關(guān)心汽車安全的人們，將會密切XC90在未來的前途和命運。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：嚴匡正

????Volvo took a big step toward regaining a foothold in the U.S. and worldwide with the introduction of its XC90 full-size crossover, a vehicle that constitutes the first report card for China’s Zhejiang Geely’s acquisition of the Swedish automaker from Ford Motor in 2010.

????The premium seven-seater, powered by a newly-designed four-cylinder engine, will contend against models like the Lexus RX350, BMW X5 and Chevrolet Tahoe. Its arrival is critical for Volvo dealers in the U.S., who have watched sales plummet since Ford, in the midst of financial difficulties, unloaded the brand for $1.8 billion.

????Volvo executives say they regard the XC90 as the first model they’ve been able to create as an independent company since 2000, when Ford bought Volvo cars from the larger Volvo Group. Volvo’s partnership with Zhejiang Geely has been primarily a financial one, which has allowed the Swedish partners to pursue car development independently.

????“This is one of the most important days in our history,” said Hakan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo, at the introduction in Stockholm. “We are not just launching a car but relaunching our brand.”

????Under Ford’s management, Volvo reached sales of roughly 140,000 in the U.S., a level that has dropped since then to 60,000 or so, a pace that has prompted some of the approximately 300 U.S. dealers to sell or abandon their franchise. Volvo executives say the automaker’s new SPA (for “Scalable Product Architecture”), developed for XC90, will be the basis for a number of new sedans and station wagons.

????Zhejiang Geely, led by its billionaire founder Li Shufu, is counting on growing Volvo sales in China, as well as a sharing of technical, marketing and design expertise that it can use to strengthen its Geely brand of vehicles.

????Li, a self-made engineering graduate with a taste for poetry, founded Geely (which means “l(fā)ucky” in Mandarin) in 1986 as a maker of refrigerators. The company moved on to motorcycles and finally to cars. Geely originally aimed to export its cars to the U.S. – a feat it will have accomplished, in a sense, with its $11 billion invested resuscitating Volvo and developing the XC90.

????The XC90, starting at about $48,000, will begin arriving at U.S. dealers as a 2016 model next spring.

????Volvo, founded in 1927, had been a niche brand prior to Ford’s purchase, known for its individualistic approach to design and innovative safety features. With the XC90, the automaker hopes to recapture its reputation, mostly with electronic features such as adaptive cruise control and front collision avoidance, meant to avert accidents altogether, rather than simply to make mishaps more survivable with fewer and lighter injuries.

????The goal, say Volvo executives, is to sell 800,000 Volvos worldwide on an annual basis by 2020, roughly four times what’s selling now – an ambitious number.

????And even more ambitious – perhaps unimaginable – target is Volvo’s resolve that by 2020 no one will be killed or severely injured in one of its new cars, which will be equipped with the latest safety features.

????For the big automakers like Toyota and Volkswagen, Volvo’s reemergence is too small to cause concern. For the budding Chinese car industry and automotive safety advocates, the progress and fate of the XC90 will be closely scrutinized.