欧洲汽车业最激烈的竞争已经进入了一个新阶段。梅塞德斯-奔驰（Mercedes-Benz）和宝马（BMW）即将检验全世界对高端小型车的胃口。自从宝马甩掉路虎（Rover），梅塞德斯-奔驰与克莱斯勒（Chrysler）撇清关系以来，两家公司都在极力避免大型车市场，而把重点放在精品小车上。现在随着追求燃油经济性的压力越来越大，加上可供开发的新细分市场越来越少，奔驰和宝马现在都在寻找其它的增长机会。.

    考虑到两家公司各自的历史、地缘和文化，两者之间的冲突不可避免。梅塞德斯-奔驰的母公司是戴姆勒（Daimler），而戴姆勒的前身成立于1883年，正是它发明了世界上第一台汽车，而且戴姆勒也总是不厌其烦地向全世界宣传这个丰功伟业。宝马成立于1917年，不过它直到1928年才进军汽车业务，之前它主要生产飞机引擎。梅塞德斯-奔驰的老家斯图加特是一座阴暗的工业城，一年到头难得见到几次阳光。而宝马的总部则驻扎在灯红酒绿的慕尼黑。梅塞德斯-奔驰的格言是戈特利布•戴姆勒的那句经典的“要么最好，要么什么都不是”（The best or nothing）。宝马则把自己包装成“终极驾驶机器”的生产者——这句广告语是美国的一家广告公司替它想出来的。

    以大多数标准来看，宝马都已经超过了老对手奔驰。不过奔驰正在努力反超。下面我们介绍一下双方目前的竞争情况。

1.销量

    强势增长的宝马【和奥迪（Audi>）】正在步步蚕食梅塞德斯-奔驰在高端市场上的份额。据IHS Automotive公司的数据，梅塞德斯-奔驰目前控制着21.4%的高端市场，比2001年的25%略有降低。宝马曾表示要在2020年前将年销量提升到200万台，不过由于宝马目前炙手可热，所以公司已经把这个目标提前到了2016年。宝马3系是目前全球最畅销的豪华车型。梅塞德斯-奔驰的首席执行官蔡澈曾豪言奔驰的销量要在2020年前翻一番，同时超过宝马。不过分析师们却对此持怀疑态度。

优势方：宝马。

2.运营效率

    曾经有人预测，由于宝马的规模较小，因此它的财务业绩注定不会乐观。不过事实证明，宝马的盈利水平已经跻身世界一流之列。去年宝马息税前利润为11.8%，而梅塞德斯-奔驰则只有9%。而你在奔驰广告里看到的那些穿着白大褂的工程师们实际上给奔驰的财务业绩造成了不小的压力。其实奔驰是在雇更多的人造更少的车。奔驰希望未来将利润率提升到10%，但从2012年第一季度来看，它的利润只有8.4%。

优势方：宝马

    The most intense automotive rivalry in Europe is entering a new phase: Mercedes-Benz and BMW will be testing the world's appetite for small cars with big prices.

    Since BMW dumped Rover and Mercedes shed its relationship with Chrysler, both automakers have shunned high-volume segments of the car business and focused on premium models. Now that pressure is growing for better fuel economy, and there are fewer top-shelf segments to exploit, both are looking for additional growth opportunities.

    Given their disparate histories, geography, and culture, conflict is inevitable. Daimler, Mercedes' parent, is the successor to a company founded in 1883 that invented the automobile and never tires of reminding the world of that fact. BMW got started in 1917 as a maker of aircraft engines and didn't get into making cars until 1928. Stuttgart, home to Mercedes, is a grey factory town where the sun seldom shines, while BMW is rooted to party-happy Munich. Finally, Mercedes, elitist to its core, reveals its true self in its motto "The best or nothing," coined by Gottlieb Daimler. BMW fashions itself as creator of the "ultimate driving machine," a tagline created by an American advertising agency.

    By most measurements, BMW has been outpacing its older rival, but Mercedes is trying to mount a comeback. Here's the current tale of the tape:

1. Sales

    Onrushing BMW (and Audi) is chipping away at Mercedes' share of the premium market. According to IHS Automotive, M-B now commands 21.4%, down from 25% in 2001. BMW used to promise sales of two million vehicles by 2020 but is running so hot that it moved the target date sooner to 2016, and its 3-series is the top-selling luxury car in the world. Mercedes chief Dieter Zetsche has vowed Mercedes will more than double sales by 2020 and pass BMW, but analysts are -- to put it politely -- skeptical.

Advantage: BMW

2. Operating efficiency

    Defying forecasts that its small scale doomed it to substandard financial performance, BMW has been performing at a profitability level among the world's best. Last year's margin (before interest and taxes) was 11.8%, while Mercedes managed only 9%. All those white-coated technicians you see in Mercedes commercials are weighing on the bottom line. The automaker is, in effect, paying more people to make fewer cars. Going forward, Mercedes wants to improve to a 10% margin, but it only managed 8.4% in the first quarter of 2012.

Advantage:BMW

3.单车收益

    梅塞德斯-奔驰的产品线主要向高端倾斜。无论是CL级、SL级还是别的车型，只要挂上三叉星的车标，基本都要比竞争品牌的同级车贵好几千美元。在奔驰AMG和它的黑色版的帮助下，梅塞德斯-奔驰的平均每车收益为53,000美元。宝马3系的流行则压低了宝马的每车收益——宝马的每车收益为47,400美元。反正不管怎样，奔驰和宝马的经销商们都已经心满意足了。

优势方：梅塞德斯-奔驰

3. Revenue per vehicle

    Mercedes' product line skews to the upper end -- all those CLs and SLs -- and the three-pointed star traditionally commands a premium of several thousand dollars over competing brands. Its AMG and Black Edition (above) cars help raise its average revenue per unit to $53,000. The popularity of the 3-series weighs down BMW. $47,400 is the average revenue per unit. Either way, both brands' dealers are happy campers.

Advantage:Mercedes-Benz

4.增长：增值车型

    宝马X1等派生车型给宝马的增长带来了不小的推动力。X1是在宝马1系（上图）的基础上衍生出的一款跨界车。梅塞德斯的增长则主要来自它的核心车型——C级、E级和S级。这一点令人印象深刻，不过伯恩斯坦研究公司（Bernstein Research）的分析师们认为，如此依赖核心车型，表明了奔驰存在缺乏想象力的毛病。这也迫使奔驰不得不花更大的力气推动销量，出台各种激励手段，而且开始依赖出租车公司等批量客户。

优势方：宝马

4. Growth: Incremental Models

    BMW's growth has been driven by spinoff models like the X1 -- a crossover derivative of the popular 1-series (above). Mercedes gets its growth from its core models -- C-class, E-class, S-class. That's impressive, but analysts at Bernstein Research believe that focus shows a lack of imagination and has forced Mercedes to push sales harder with incentives and deliveries to fleets like taxi companies.

Advantage:BMW

5.增长：新车型

    和老款不同，很快即将投放市场的全新奔驰A级五门掀背车（上图）和B级的多功能车应该会毫无悬念地通过麋鹿测试（moose-avoidance test）。奔驰此次完全颠覆了它的小型车工艺，取消了“三明治”地板，降低了车顶高度。宝马则通过X4跨界车等继续扩展现有产品线。X4也借鉴了X6的跑车式外型，不过恐怕还是敌不过奔驰最新小型车的魅力。

优势方：奔驰

6.增长：车主

    据CNW研究公司的一位分析师介绍，买奔驰的人平均比买宝马的人年长五岁，二者客户群的平均年龄比为57岁：51岁。尤其是在产品线的低端，消费者的年龄差异最为明显。奔驰C级的买主平均比宝马3系的买主年长10岁。虽然欧洲和美国都已步入老龄社会，但它却没有对奔驰的销量起到太大的促进作用。究其原因，根子还是在于衰退的经济。年长的买家越来越倾向储蓄，年轻买家则可举债买车。

优势方：平手

5. Growth: New models

    Unlike their predecessors, the all-new A-class five-door hatchback (above) and B-class multi-purpose vehicle coming soon to market are in no danger of tipping over in a moose-avoidance test. Mercedes has completely revamped its small car engineering by eliminating the sandwich floor and lowering the roof height. BMW continues to stretch its existing portfolio with cars like the X4 crossover that will feature the coupe styling of the X6 but may have trouble matching the pizzazz of the new small Benzes.

Advantage:Mercedes-Benz

6. Growth: Demographics

    Mercedes buyers are typically five to ten years older than BMW buyers and average 57 years in age vs. 51, according to an analysis by CNW Research. At the lower end of the product spectrum, the difference is most pronounced. Mercedes' C-class buyers are ten years older than those of BMW's 3-series. Europe and the U.S. are aging, but it isn't helping Mercedes as much as it should. Blame it on recession economics: Older buyers dip into savings; younger buyers can use debt.

Advantage:Even

7.品牌诱因

    俗话说：细节决定成败。根据伯恩斯坦研究公司的调查，大多数欧洲的汽车记者都认为梅塞德斯-奔驰给汽车命名的方法太让人费解。有多少站在奔驰经销店门口的人能说出SL、SLK、SLR和SLS的区别？但是宝马的命名标准却很清晰——1系、3系、5系、7系——数字越大，价格越贵，简单明了。而且宝马的双肾形进气格栅普及到了整个产品线，而奔驰的三叉星车标有的在发动机盖上，有的在进气格栅上，而且光是大小就有两三个版本之多。

优势方：宝马

7. Brand cues

    Little things count. European auto journalists polled by Bernstein Research complained about Mercedes' confusing nomenclature. How many people outside a Mercedes dealership know the different between an SL, SLK, SLR, and SLS? At BMW, the ranking is clear: the higher the number -- 1, 3, 5, 7 -- the higher the price. And BMW's dual-kidney grille is used uniformly across the product line, whereas the M-B three-pointed star moves from the hood to the grille and comes in two or more sizes.

Advantage:BMW

8.美国市场的表现

    到目前为止，奔驰在美国保持着微弱的领先优势。今年6月，奔驰在美国的销量为22,231台，比2011年6月提高了7.6%。从年初至今，奔驰的总销量达到128,595台，比去年上涨了15.9%，也创下了有史以来的最高纪录。奔驰的C级、E级（上图）和M级都是非常热门的产品。宝马品牌车辆今年6月的销量只比去年增长了0.4%，为21,725台。从年初至今，在宝马5系的带动下，宝马的总销量比去年同期上涨了11.3%，达到126,504台。总之，到了今年的12月，双方的年销量数据可能会非常接近。

优势方：奔驰微弱领先

8. U.S. performance

    To date, Mercedes has a slight lead. Benz models posted June sales of 22,231, a 7.6 % improvement over June 2011, delivering a year-to-date total of 128,595, up 15.9% and an all-time high. The C-, E- (above) and M-Class model lines were the hot performers. Sales of BMW brand vehicles, last year's volume leader, increased 0.4% in June for a total of 21,725. Year to date, the BMW brand is up 11.3% on sales of 126,504, led by the 5 series. Expect to see a photo finish in December.

Advantage:Mercedes by a nose

9.小型车品牌

    Smart这座金矿已经被梅塞德斯-奔驰挖了整整14年了。现在奔驰已经与雷诺（Renault）达成合作意向，将于2014年推出一台全新的小型车，它将与下一代的雷诺Twingo微车共享同一平台。不管怎样，这次与雷诺的合作至少会比上次与斯沃奇手表（Swatch）的合作强一些。不过宝马的Mini品牌（上图）已经取得了巨大的成功，成为了精品小车市场的先行者，迄今已经发展出coupe、敞篷、roadster、wagon和SUV等多款产品。下一代的Mini将与即将推出的宝马小型车型共享相同的前驱平台。这的确是个精明的组合。

优势方：宝马

    译者：朴成奎

9. Small car brands

    Smart car has been a money pit that Mercedes has been trying to dig out of for 14 years. Now it has partnered with Renault on a replacement due in 2014 that will share a platform with the next-generation Renault Twingo minicar. At the very least, the partnership should be more successful than Smart's original pairing with Swatch watches. But BMW's Mini (above) has already been an enormous success, pioneering the premium small car segment and spawning a coupe, convertible, roadster, wagon, and SUV. The next-generation Mini will share a front-wheel-drive platform with upcoming small BMW models -- a shrewd combination if BMW can pull it off.

Advantage:BMW