????盡管中國的汽車市場有所降溫，但福特汽車公司仍然在中國看到了巨大的商機。這些商機并非位于中國的特大城市，而是蘊藏在廣大中小城鎮之中。

????福特CEO馬克·菲爾茲在7月28日的收益電話會議上表示：“很明顯，市場在減速。”福特發現商用車的銷量跌幅超過了乘用車，這是市場放緩的象征。盡管這給汽車價格帶來了壓力，但菲爾茲認為福特必須正確看待中國市場及其當前的市場環境。

????菲爾茲指出：“中國是目前全球最大的市場。根據我們的預測，中國汽車市場在今后5到10年的時間里還將增加大約3000萬臺汽車。我們仍然非常看好中國市場。”

????福特將很大一部分的增長寄望于所謂的三線到六線城市，也就是那些離農村人口更近，且生機勃勃的小城鎮。而北京、上海、廣州、深圳被視為一線城市。

????三線以下城市一般沒有京滬廣深等大城市那樣嚴格的限制。在北京、廣州、杭州、上海、深圳、天津等城市，為了減少汽車造成的污染，政府已經推出限購令，有意購車的消費者只能按月“搖號”，搖到號的人才能購買汽車。

????菲爾茲在收益電話會議上表示，今年福特新指定的經銷商有85%分布在三線到六線城市。今年第二季度，中國三到六線城市的零售額增長率達到了一二線城市的一倍以上。

????總體來看，這個季度可以說是福特自2000年以來最好的一個季度。今年二季度，福特的凈收入比去年同期飆升了44%。在當季19億美元的凈利潤中，有相當一部分要歸功于福特在北美地區的高銷量。

????福特在世界其他地區的業績則參差不齊。如果刨掉北美地區，福特本季度在所有其他國家和地區的盈虧基本持平，略好于去年同期。

????今年第二季度，福特在歐洲虧損了1400萬美元，在中東和非洲虧損了4600萬美元。福特在南美也虧損了1.85億美元——不過歸功于更高的凈定價，這個水平還是要好于去年同期。在本周二與分析師的電話會議上，福特財務總監鮑伯·尚克斯稱，南美地區是一個“艱苦的環境”，特別是巴西，雖然福特已經在那里占據了一定的市場份額。

????今年第二季度，盡管中國汽車行業的銷售額有所降低，但福特在亞太地區的利潤還是達到了創紀錄的1.92億美元，運營利潤達到8%。福特已經將中國市場2015年的銷量預期由此前的2450萬至2650輛轎車和卡車下調至2300萬至2400萬輛。隨著福特將開拓重點轉向限制更少的中小城市，未來幾個季度，它的銷量數字可能將進一步增長。（財富中文網）

????譯者：樸成奎

????審校：任文科

????Even as automotive sales in China cool, Ford sees big opportunity. And it’s not in the megacities, but in the country’s smaller locales.

????“It’s clear we’ve seen a market slowdown,” CEO Mark Fields said during an earnings call Tuesday. Ford F 1.92% saw commercial vehicle sales fall further than passenger vehicles, an indication of a slowing market. While it’s putting pressure on prices, Fields says it’s important to put China and its current market conditions into perspective.

????“It’s the biggest market in the world right now,” Fields says. “By our forecasts it’s going to grow to about 30 million vehicles in the next 5 to 10 years. We’re still very bullish on China.”

????The U.S. automaker is seeing larger percentage growths in so-called tier 3 to 6 cities, burgeoning, smaller metro areas that are located closer to rural populations. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, known as the big four, are considered tier 1 cities.

????Tier 3 to tier 6 cities don’t have the same restrictions as the largest metropolitan areas such as Beijing. In certain Chinese cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Tianjin, regulations have been put in place to limit the number of cars an individual can own in an effort to reduce pollution. Prospective owners in the country can only acquire a license plate through a monthly lottery system.

????This year, 85% of Ford’s dealer appointments are going to be in tier 3 through 6 cities, Fields said in an earnings call Tuesday. In the second quarter, wholesales in those tier 3 through 6 cities were more than double percentage increases than in tier 1 and 2 cities, Fields says.

????Overall, Ford had its best quarter since 2000. Net income skyrocketed 44% in the second quarter from the same period a year earlier. Much of the company’s $1.9 billion in net profit was driven by high sales volume in North America.

????Sales in the rest of the world were mixed. Taking all of Ford’s operations outside of North America collectively, they broke even in the second quarter and improved from the previous period.

????Ford lost $14 million in Europe and $46 million in the Middle East and Africa. Ford also saw a $185 million loss in South America—an improvement thanks to higher net pricing. In a call with analysts Tuesday, CFO Bob Shanks described South America, particularly a Brazil, a tough environment, although it gained market share there.

????The Asia-Pacific region had a record profit of $192 million and an operating margin of 8%, despite lower industry sales in China. Ford did lower its 2015 sales expectations for China to 23 to 24 million vehicles, down from a previous projection of 24.5 million to 26.5 million cars and trucks. The company’s focus on smaller cities with fewer restrictions may boost numbers even further in coming quarters.