????大眾汽車能否成為全球頭號汽車廠商，在很大程度上取決于它的橫置發動機模塊化平臺(MQB)。該公司聲稱，這套設計和生產汽車的標準化流程極其節約成本。

????在上周四于柏林舉行的大眾年度財務總結會上，首席執行官馬丁?文德恩表示，該公司旗下眾多汽車品牌，包括大眾、斯柯達和奧迪，今年將利用MQB平臺生產270萬臺汽車。隨著車型的不斷更新，到2018年，這個數字將增至700萬臺。

????2014年，大眾向客戶交付了超過1000萬臺車，創下銷售記錄。只有豐田可以與之匹敵，這家日本汽車制造商的銷量和大眾旗鼓相當，但利潤更高，是大眾登頂的頭號勁敵。

????大眾高爾夫、歐版帕薩特和奧迪A3，就是基于MQB平臺打造的多款車型的代表作。在田納西州查特努加生產的美版帕薩特，則是基于更早期的平臺設計生產的。

????文德恩聲稱，“我們堅信，為MQB模塊化工具戰略所作的大量前期投資一定會產生回報。”

????全球各地的汽車廠商正在爭相探索旨在降低基礎車型研發和制造成本的策略，以便投入更多資本來提升汽車的互聯功能、安全性、環保排放標準和自動駕駛系統。而股票分析師則懷疑，大眾花重金引入靈活的模塊化汽車設計，以及在工廠、工具和生產流程方面的連帶投資，未必會產生它所宣稱的效益。

????但大眾2014年的業績表明，該公司的管理層再次證明分析師的意見并不靠譜。2014年，大眾的銷售額高達2020億歐元，營業利潤為127億歐元。大眾公司首席財務官漢斯?迪特?潘師表示，鑒于2014年的稅前利潤率高達7.3%，該公司有望在2018年之前實現稅前利潤率8%的目標。

????大眾并沒有借助它在中國的合資企業來提升集團整體業績。相反，該公司采用權益法來編制其財務報表。如果它的財務報表能夠充分反映在中國合資企業獲得的52億歐元營業利潤，大眾公司的利潤率就會進一步提升。

????大眾旗下最賺錢的品牌是奧迪和保時捷，而大眾品牌自身卻對總體業績有一定拖累。去年七月，大眾宣布將對大眾品牌實施一個效益提升項目，其中就包括砍掉那些滯銷車型。

????奇怪的是，大眾在美國的日子一直不好過，銷量甚至遠落后于斯巴魯這樣的小眾品牌。文德恩在上周四的會議上表示，大眾正準備用三款全新SUV“再次對美國市場發起猛攻”，其中就有基于MQB平臺的全新途觀，該車將于2017年在墨西哥投產。

????大眾還計劃成為自動駕駛領域的領頭羊。去年11月，它在歐洲推出了一款搭載“堵車輔助系統”的帕薩特轎車。該系統能在完全無需駕駛者介入的情況下，使車輛在車道內安全行駛，并在低速時主動防止碰撞。在美國上市的奧迪A8汽車也將在不久后搭載這套系統。

????目前看來，豐田汽車公司銷量與大眾相當，利潤率則高出50%，但它毫無敗落或退步的跡象。在位于德國沃爾夫斯堡的大眾集團總部，該公司管理層看上去信心滿滿、干勁十足，但他們要追趕的是一個健步如飛的對手。（財富中文網）

????譯者：清遠

????審校：任文科

????Volkswagen’s push to become the No. 1 global automaker hinges critically on its MQB architecture, a method of designing and building cars that VW has hailed as ultra cost-efficient.

????At the automaker’s annual financial review in Berlin on Thursday, chief executive officer Martin Winterkorn said that the company’s numerous automotive brands—including VW, Skoda, and Audi— will build 2.7 million cars with MQB architecture this year. That number will rise to 7 million in 2018, as models are renewed.

????VW delivered more than 10 million cars to customers in 2014, a company record. Only Toyota, which sells about the same number of vehicles but is more profitable, stands in VW’s way to the summit.

????VW Golf, the European version of the Passat, and the Audi A3 are among the more than half dozen car models based on MQB. The U.S. version of the Passat, built in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is based on an earlier design.

????“We’re convinced that the massive upfront expenditures for the [MQB] modular toolkit strategy will pay off,” Winterkorn said.

????Automakers worldwide are rushing to find strategies to shrink development and manufacturing costs for basic vehicle designs so they can use more capital for advanced connectivity, safety, emission, and autonomous systems. Equity analysts and other automakers have raised doubts that VW’s heavy spending to introduce flexible, modular car designs and the associated investment in factories, tools, and processes will be justified by financial results.

????Then again, VW’s 2014 performance suggests that the automaker’s management is proving the critics wrong. Volkswagen posted a 12.7 billion euro operating profit for the year on sales of 202 billion euros. With a pre-tax return on sales of 7.3% for 2014, Hans Dieter Potsch said that the company was on track to achieve the company’s goal of 8% by 2018.

????VW doesn’t consolidate its results with joint venture partners in China. Instead, it reports results using the equity method. Its profitability ratios would be even higher if its 5.2 billion euro share of operating profit was fully reflected.

????The big profit makers in VW’s portfolio—more or less carrying the company—are Audi and Porsche, with the VW brand serving as a relative drag on results. Last July, the automaker announced an efficiency program for the VW brand, including the cancellation of some slow-selling models.

????Oddly, the VW’s brand is struggling most in the U.S., where its sales lag behind much smaller brands such as Subaru. Winterkorn vowed on Thursday that his company is “going on the offensive again in the USA,” with three new SUVs, including a new MQB-based Tiguan, to be built in Mexico starting in 2017.

????VW also aims to be a leader in autonomous driving technology. In November, it introduced a VW Passat with Traffic Jam Assist in Europe. The system keeps the car safely in its lane and prevents collisions at low speeds, all without driver intervention. It will soon be available in the U.S. in an Audi A8.

????Toyota, for the moment, sells as many vehicles, is about 50% more profitable than VW, and shows no signs of losing its way or backing down. The wizards of Wolfsburg, Germany – where VW is based – are driven, but they are chasing a very swift rabbit.