????戴姆勒旗下的梅賽德斯-奔馳正在中國豪華轎車領域重回巔峰。

????眼下，同樣來自德國的豪華轎車品牌寶馬和奧迪艱難地維持著增速，而奔馳的銷量開始迅猛上升。

????今年第二季度，奔馳在華銷售量達到91152輛，比上年同期的68061輛提高了34%。在日本和韓國，奔馳的銷量也分別增長了54%和71%。

????戴姆勒管理委員會主席蔡澈在周四（7月23日）的業績通報會上表示：“我們認為去年確實沒有在中國充分利用自己的品牌。現在我們發現，利用這一潛力的機會比以前好得多。”

????幾年前，寶馬和奧迪統治著中國的豪華轎車市場，局面和現在完全不同。而自從2006年戴姆勒在中國設立了第一家奔馳工廠以來，奔馳在中國的銷量也開始突飛猛進。

????這些年來，隨著中國中產階層喜歡上了高端時尚產品、珠寶和轎車，歐美豪華品牌在中國進入了繁榮期。然而，雖然奢侈品需求不斷增長，奔馳的銷量卻掉了隊，部分原因在于該公司的經銷網絡存在問題。舉例來說，2013年奧迪在中國的銷量為49.2萬輛，而奔馳在年報中公布的銷量只有238727輛。

????為奪回一些市場份額，戴姆勒改變了努力方向，開始擴大經銷商隊伍并大幅調整產品結構。

????蔡澈指出，產品結構、效率的提升、公司在中國的發展以及GLC SUV和GLE Coupe等幾款新產品讓奔馳前景光明。

????他在業績通報會上說：“并不是我們的一些競爭對手現在變弱了，所以要看好我們；相反，對手變弱更多的是因為我們的實力增強了，這和過去的局面正好相反。”

????為了進一步強調這個觀點，蔡澈補充道：“這是一個時代的開始，而非頂峰。”

????全球市場對奔馳的需求成了今年第二季度戴姆勒的最大利潤來源。奔馳的銷售利潤率從去年同期的7.9%升至10.5%，這是多年來該指標首次達到兩位數。

????蔡澈在一份公告中表示：“上半年奔馳的利潤率達到了我們的目標。其他汽車業務也基本實現了利潤率目標。我們將繼續按規劃系統性地向前推進。”

????今年第二季度奔馳全球銷量為500694輛，比去年同期增長20%。

????整個戴姆勒集團的收入同比上升19%，達到375億歐元（412億美元）；凈利潤24億歐元（26.4億美元），提高了8%。

????蔡澈將戴姆勒的成功歸結于對新車型的投資，特別是C級轎車。同時，在豪華轎車領域，對手的頂級車型開始變得落伍。比如說，寶馬7第五代產品從2008年就推出了（第六代寶馬7系產品到今年6月才發布）。

????就新車型和新產品而言，戴姆勒看來并未松懈。該公司披露，今年上半年研發開支為31億歐元（34.1億美元），其中逾三分之二都投入了奔馳，用于開發新車型，特別是省油的環保型驅動系統以及安全技術。（財富中文網）

????譯者：Charlie

????校對：詹妮

????Daimler’s AG Mercedes-Benz is clawing its way back up to the top of the luxury car heap in China.

????Unlike its German luxury brand rivals BMW and Audi, which have struggled to maintain momentum in China, sales of Mercedes-Benz have surged.

????Unit sales of Mercedes-Benz cars rose 34% in China to 91,152 in the second quarter, compared to 68,061 in the same quarter last year. Unit sales in Japan rose 54%, and 71% in South Korea.

????“We do believe we underutilized our brand in China in past years,” Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Daimler’s board of management said on the company’s earnings call Thursday. “We’ve seen much better chances to exploit that potential now.”

????It was a different story several years ago when BMW and Audi dominated the luxury car market in China. When DDAIY -0.76% opened its first Mercedes-Benz factory in China in 2006, sales leapt forward.

????For years, luxury brands from the U.S. and Europe have thrived as China’s middle class developed a taste for high-end fashion, jewelry, and cars. But even as demand for luxury items increased Mercedes saw sales begin to lag, in part because of problems with its distribution networks. In 2013, for instance, Audi sold nearly 492,000 cars in China; Mercedes sold only 238,727, according to its annual report.

????Daimler shifted its efforts toward taking back some of the market by expanding dealerships and overhauling its model lineup.

????The company’s product portfolio, efficiency improvements, development in China, as well as the introduction of several new models, including the new Mercedes-Benz GLC sport-utility vehicle and the GLE Coupe, all contribute to the company’s positive outlook, Zetsche says.

????“It’s not that you should assume that because some of our competitors are weaker right now this should apply to us,” Zetsche said on the earnings call. “But perhaps it’s more that the weakness of our competitors is the consequence of our strength, as it was the other way around in the past.”

????As if to further press his point, Zetsche added, “This is the beginning of an era, and not a peak.”

????Global demand for Mercedes cars was Daimler’s big profit maker in the second quarter. The car division’s return on sales hit 10.5%, up from 7.9% in second-quarter of 2014 and hitting double digitis for the first time in years.

????“We achieved our targeted margin for Mercedes-Benz cars in the first half of the year. In all other automotive divisions, we are about to achieve our margin targets,” Zetsche said in a statement. “We will systematically continue along the path we have taken.”

????Global unit sales of Mercedes-Benz’s car division increased by 20% from the same quarter last year to 500,694 vehicles.

????Overall, Daimler Group’s revenue jumped 19% in the second quarter to 37.5 billion euros ($41.2 billion) from the same quarter last year. Net profit rose 8% to 2.4 billion euros ($2.64 billion).

????Zetsche credited the company’s success on investment in new models, specifically noting the C-Class sedan. Meanwhile, the top models of its luxury rivals are aging. For instance, the fifth generation of the BMW 7 Series has been in production since 2008. (BMW’s sixth generation of the 7 Series was revealed in June 2015.)

????Daimler doesn’t appear to be taking its foot off the gas, as far as new models and products are concerned. The company reported that its research and development spending in the first half of the year was 3.1 billion euros ($3.41 billion). More than two-thirds of the research and development spending was in the Mercedes-Benz cars segment with capital going towards new vehicle models, particularly fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly drive systems, as well as safety technologies.