Each day brings a new rumour about a troubled US carmaker peddling brands to China: one day Ford is rumoured to be selling Volvo to Chery, one of China's biggest car companies; the next day General Motors is said to be selling Hummer to little Sichuan Motors.
Nothing is impossible in China but, as US automakers scramble to raise funds, car industry insiders in China say they do not expect Beijing to take over Detroit in the near future. They say that most Chinese companies lack the money, the expertise or the appetite for risk required to buy a foreign auto brand now – and many lack all three.
“Chinese automakers find the prospect of owning a foreign brand tantalising but it's the right opportunity at the wrong time,” says Mike Dunne of JD Power, the auto consultancy, in Shanghai. “Uncertain economic conditions make them skittish: surviving at home is the number one priority.”
He adds that things could be different if market conditions change, noting that some companies have cash or could secure government funding. But sources close to some of China's biggest automakers say they know they do not have the expertise to manage a foreign brand in a downturn abroad, especially at a time of depressed sales at home.
The failure of Shanghai Automotive (SAIC), China's biggest carmaker, to make a success of its high-profile acquisition of 51 per cent of Ssangyong, the South Korean automaker that was recently placed in bankruptcy protection, is a cautionary tale that has not been lost on Beijing.
SAIC says it has learned from its problems with Ssangyong's labour unions, and the experience will make it “more confident and experienced about purchasing and operating overseas operations” in future.
But sources close to the company say not to expect another acquisition soon. “Our current priority is obviously to capture domestic market growth,” SAIC says.
Zheng Jun, auto analyst at Citic Securities, says auto assets currently up for sale are not a good match for Chinese companies anyway.
“The core competence of Chinese manufacturers lies in low-cost management,” Mr Zheng says, noting that “it would be very hard for Geely to leverage the purchase of Volvo, because Geely hardly has any know-how in luxury brands”.
Volvo speculation often focuses on Geely and Chery, another Chinese automaker, which recently won a Rmb10bn ($1.46bn) line of credit from China's Export-Import Bank. But industry insiders say they do not believe Chery will buy a foreign brand.
Meanwhile, Ford has made preliminary contacts with Chinese car companies in its quest to sell Volvo, industry insiders say.
参考译文：
每天都会有陷入困境的美国汽车制造商向中国兜售旗下品牌的新传闻：有一天，传闻称福特(Ford)将把沃尔沃(Volvo)卖给中国最大的汽车公司之一奇瑞(Chery)；另一天，传闻称通用汽车(General Motors)将把悍马(Hummer)卖给规模较小的四川汽车(Sichuan Motors)。
在中国，一切皆有可能，但当美国汽车制造商忙于筹措资金之际，中国汽车业业内人士表示，他们预计中国政府近期内不会接手底特律。他们表示，大多数中国公司目前都缺乏收购一个外国汽车品牌所需的资金、专业技能或兴趣——并且许多公司三者都缺乏。
汽车咨询机构JD Power驻上海的迈克尔•邓恩(Mike Dunne)表示：“中国汽车制造商觉得拥有一个外国品牌的前景非常诱人，但这是在糟糕形势下出现的良机。不确定的经济环境让他们有些胆怯：在国内市场活下来才是首要任务。”
他补充称，考虑到有些公司拥有现金或可以获得政府融资，如果市场环境出现变化，情况可能会有所不同。但接近中国部分最大汽车制造商的消息来源表示，这些制造商明白，自己不具备在海外市场低迷的情况下管理一个外国品牌的技能，尤其是在国内销售不振的情况下。
中国最大的汽车制造商上海汽车(Shanghai Automotive)收购韩国汽车制造商双龙(Ssangyong) 51%股权这一备受瞩目的交易未获成功，至今仍对中国政府起到警示作用。双龙最近已进入破产保护程序。
上海汽车表示，从与双龙工会的问题中得到了教训，而这段经历将会使其在未来“购买和运营海外业务时更为自信，也更有经验。”
但熟悉该公司的消息来源表示，别指望该公司会很快发起另一笔收购。上海汽车表示：“很明显，我们当前的首要任务是抓住国内市场的增长。”
Citic Securities汽车分析师郑钧表示，不管怎么说，目前待售的汽车资产与中国企业都不太匹配。
郑钧表示：“中国制造商的核心竞争力在于低成本管理。”他指出，“吉利(Geely)将很难把握对沃尔沃的收购，因为吉利几乎没有任何经营奢侈品牌的窍门。”
有关沃尔沃买家的猜测往往集中在吉利和奇瑞身上，后者最近获得了中国进出口银行(China's Export-Import Bank)至多100亿元人民币（合14.6亿美元）的信贷额度。但业内人士表示，他们认为奇瑞不会购买一个外国品牌。
与此同时，业内人士表示，福特已与中国汽车企业就其寻求出售沃尔沃进行了初步接洽。
（转载）
