大眾汽車的秘密武器

????消費者通過名字來辨識汽車，比如馬里布（Malibu），科羅拉（Corolla），捷達（Jetta）和蒙迪歐（Fusion）。而工程師和財經分析人士則通過有時晦澀難懂的基礎架構名稱來認識汽車，比如Epsilon，MCM和PQ35。

????盡管后者可能聽起來枯燥乏味，但對大眾汽車（Volkswagen）里的許多人來說卻是美妙的音符。這家汽車廠商生產了基于PQ35平臺的汽車。大眾汽車集團旗下擁有奧迪（Audi）、賓利（Bentley）和保時捷（Porsche）等多個品牌，在利潤方面處于業內領先地位，并且正力求成為世界上銷量最高的汽車廠商。這家總部位于德國沃爾夫斯堡的公司之所以大獲成功，主要原因就在于PQ35平臺及其同類平臺。許多車型都是基于這些高效率的架構。

????數十年來，通用架構堪稱各個汽車廠商的圣杯。研發新車型的費用可以達到數十億美元。收回這筆投資的關鍵是，盡管出售的各種車型外觀相差巨大有如豪華奧迪與入門級大眾之分，但這些車型都使用統一的零部件，通過規模生產減少成本。

????這說起來容易，但做起來難，尤其是當汽車公司試圖將汽車出售給世界各地的消費者時。10年前，通用汽車（General Motors）在世界范圍內擁有幾十種汽車平臺，這導致了成本失控，成為該公司在2008年最終破產的原因之一。如今，通用汽車的Epsilon全球平臺應用于在美國銷售的雪佛蘭馬里布和別克君威（Regal），在歐洲銷售的歐寶Insignia，在亞洲銷售的大宇Altheon。同時，豐田汽車（Toyota）的MCM架構應用于凱美瑞（Camry）和普銳斯（Prius）車型，而MCC架構則應用于花冠（Corolla）。

????但在全球的高產汽車架構中，PQ35平臺的年銷量傲視群雄。大眾汽車董事、負責研發的烏爾里奇?哈肯貝格博士堪稱PQ35平臺戰略的昔日教父。這位61歲的工程師在大眾汽車的職業生涯不僅漫長而且富有故事性，從該公司一些最富想象力的概念車以及基本的工程戰略中都可看到他的身影。去年，大眾汽車在全球范圍內共售出840萬輛汽車，其中大約有350萬輛使用了PQ35平臺，比如大眾高爾夫（Golf）、奧迪A3、斯柯達明銳（Skoda Octavia）和西雅特Leon。

????現在，大眾汽車正在準備PQ35的繼任者。將于今年秋天在歐洲上市并可能在2014年登陸美國的大眾新高爾夫就是基于一個名為MQB的新架構生產。MQB也將應用于較小的大眾車型?！按蟊娖噾{借著PQ35平臺，已經處于業內領先地位?！逼囀袌稣{研公司IHS Automotive（總部位于密歇根州諾斯維爾）的首席分析師特蕾西?漢德勒說，“他們正在以這個平臺為基礎擴大業務。大眾汽車擁有眾多品牌，不會冒險進入銷售潛力很小的市場領域?！?/p>

????Consumers know cars by names like Malibu, Corolla, Jetta and Fusion. Engineers and financial analysts, by contrast, think of cars by the sometimes less friendly designations given their underlying architectures: Epsilon, MCM and PQ35.

????As bland as the latter may sound, it has been music to many at Volkswagen, the auto maker that produces PQ35-based vehicles. The Volkswagen Group, which owns brands such as Audi, Bentley and Porsche, leads the industry in profitability and is aggressively striving to become the top car manufacturer in the world in terms of sales. A principal reason for the Wolfsburg, Germany-based firm's success is the PQ35 and its siblings, highly efficient architectures that underpin a broad range of car models.

????So-called common architectures have been a Holy Grail of sorts of car manufacturers for decades. Developing new vehicles can cost billions. The key to recouping such costs is selling a range of cars that -- while as drastically different to the eye as a posh Audi from an entry-level VW -- share many components and benefit from economies of scale.

????That is easier said than done, particularly as auto companies aim to sell vehicles to customers across the globe. General Motors (GM) a decade ago struggled with scores of vehicle platforms worldwide, a cause of uncontrollable costs and a contributing factor to its eventual bankruptcy in 2008. Today, GM's global Epsilon platform is sold in the U.S. as the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick Regal, the Opel Insignia in Europe, and the Daewoo Altheon in Asia. Toyota's (TM) MCM architecture, meanwhile, is the basis of its Camry and Prius models, while its MCC is used for the Corolla.

????But among the world's high-volume automotive architectures, the PQ35 accounts for more annual sales than any other. Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, a member of VW's board of management and responsible for research and development, is the erstwhile godfather of the PQ35 strategy. The 61-year-old engineer has a long, storied career with VW having had a hand in some of the company's most imaginative concept vehicles as well as bedrock engineering strategy. Last year, the PQ35 underpinned about 3.5 million of the 8.4 million cars sold worldwide. It was sold as the VW Golf, Audi A3, Skoda Octavia, and Seat Leon for instance.

????Now, the company is preparing the PQ35's successor. VW's new Golf, which goes on sale this fall in Europe and may appear in the U.S. by 2014, is based on the automaker's new architecture, named MQB. MQB also will be used to manufacture smaller VW models. "VW was already at the top of the pile with PQ35," said Tracy Handler, principal analyst for IHS Automotive in Northville, Michigan. "They're building on that expertise. VW has so many brands, and it doesn't go out on a limb chasing" market niches with too few potential sales."