韩国汽车制造商在华销量锐减
中国对部署美国导弹防御系统的反弹正在影响韩国汽车制造商的销售，同时中国本土汽车制造商的快速增长加剧了竞争。
Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors, which together rank as the world’s fifth-largest automaker, reported sliding China sales last month and have responded by cutting production in the country.
现代汽车(Hyundai Motor)及其关联公司起亚汽车(Kia Motors)——两者加起来是全球第五大汽车制造商——报告上月在华销售下滑，并已采取削减在华生产的对策。
Hyundai on Monday reported a 7.8 per cent year-on-year fall in March overseas sales, blaming “weaker sales in China” amid political tension over Seoul’s installation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (Thaad) system. Kia’s overseas sales for March contracted 12.5 per cent year on year.
现代汽车周一报告，3月份海外销量同比下降7.8%，该公司怪罪于“在华销售疲软”，其背景是首尔方面部署末段高空区域防御系统(THAAD，中文简称：萨德)引起政治紧张。起亚3月份海外销量同比下降12.5%。
The carmaker yesterday said March sales in China fell 52 per cent year-on-year.
该汽车制造商昨日表示3月份在华销量同比下降52%。
“Things are deteriorating in China for them as anti-Korean sentiment worsens, making Chinese consumers reluctant to buy Korean cars,” said Kim Jin-woo, analyst at Korea Investment & Securities. “A production cut in China seems inevitable one way or another to reduce mounting inventories.”
韩国投资证券公司(Korea Investment & Securities)分析师Kim Jin-woo表示：“随着反韩情绪加剧，令中国消费者不愿意购买韩国汽车，它们在中国的形势正在恶化。为缓解不断积压的库存，在中国减产似乎不可避免。”
Hyundai is the latest victim of the diplomatic stand-off between the two nations as Beijing piles pressure on Korean companies with operations in China in protest at the Thaad deployment. Lotte said on Monday it would continue to invest in China, denying rumours that it might scale down Chinese operations. Lotte has closed 75 of its 99 hypermarkets in China in recent weeks, following regulatory inspections by Chinese authorities.
现代汽车是两国外交对峙的最新受害者，北京对在华经营的韩国企业施加压力，以反对萨德部署。乐天(Lotte)周一表示将继续投资中国，否认了关于其将缩减中国业务的传言。近几周乐天在中国的99家大卖场已关闭75家，此前其卖场受到中国当局的监管检查。
South Korea and the US said the anti-missile defence system was needed to thwart a growing threat from North Korea, but China claims Thaad’s radar penetrates far into its territory.
韩国和美国表示，该反导弹防御体系对遏制朝鲜愈演愈烈的威胁是必需的，但中国声称萨德的雷达深入其领土。
“We have seen a recent drop in dealership traffic in China as consumer sentiment towards Korean products overall is low and competitors are initiating special promotions targeting our customers,” Hyundai and Kia said in a joint statement.
现代和起亚在一份联合声明中表示：“我们看到在华经销商交易量最近出现下滑，因为消费者在总体上对韩国产品情绪低迷，且竞争对手正针对我们的客户开展特别促销活动。”
China accounts for more than one-fifth of the carmaker’s sales by volume. Hyundai has four plants in China and a fifth plant in Chongqing is due to come on stream later this year.
中国占该汽车制造商销量五分之一以上。现代在中国有四间工厂，今年晚些时候还将在重庆投产第5间工厂。
Seoul’s Yonhap News said Hyundai also eliminated a second shift from its three factories in Beijing in March.
首尔的韩联社(Yonhap News)表示，现代汽车在3月份取消了北京3家工厂的第二班生产。
