通用汽车坚称，让上汽获得上海通用51%股权的交易是值得的，因为它为中美组建可能有利可图的合资企业、以印度为起点向新兴市场销售低成本汽车铺平了道路。

GM insisted that the deal, which gives SAIC 51 per cent of Shanghai GM, was worth it, since it paved the way for a potentially profitable joint venture between Detroit and Shanghai to sell low-cost vehicles to emerging markets starting with India.

在印度新建6.5亿美元的合资企业后，上汽与通用汽车将在亚洲除日本以外的所有重要市场都拥有合资企业。外国汽车制造商一般都没有机会进军日本市场。

With a new $650m joint venture in India, this would give SAIC-GM joint ventures in all the important Asian markets bar Japan (where foreign carmakers do not normally get much of a look in).

紧接着又有消息称，另一家中国大型国有汽车制造商——北京汽车工业控股有限责任公司（BAIC，简称北汽控股），已经与中国银行达成了200亿元人民币（合29亿美元）的贷款安排。

Then came news that another big state-owned Chinese carmaker, Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corporation (BAIC), had arranged a Rmb20bn ($2.9bn) line of credit with Bank of China.

北汽控股毫不讳言自己对通用汽车旗下萨博品牌的兴趣——如果能在年底前找到合适的买家，通用汽车计划将该品牌售出。

BAIC has made no secret that it is interested in GM’s Saab brand, which the Detroit carmaker plans to sell if it can find a suitable buyer by year end.

北汽控股已经就购买机器生产即将停产的9-5车型与萨博管理层进行了接洽。如果通用汽车准备好将萨博出售给一家中国竞争者的话，北汽控股如今有这个财力。

BAIC, which has already approached Saab’s management about buying machinery to produce its outgoing 9-5 model, now has the money to buy the brand, should GM be ready to sell to a Chinese competitor.

上周早些时候，银行业消息人士表示，身为中国最大民营汽车制造商之一的吉利，已为竞购沃尔沃安排了10亿美元融资。

Earlier in the week, banking sources said Geely, one of China’s largest privately-owned carmakers, had arranged $1bn in finance for its bid for Volvo.

许多汽车市场分析人士仍表示怀疑，对于在美国或欧洲人士的管理下走向失败的汽车品牌，中国汽车厂商能否让它们起死回生。

Many car market analysts remain sceptical of whether Chinese carmakers can make a success of distressed brands that failed under US or European management.

一些人质疑这些交易能否最终完成：沃尔沃的出售已拖延数月；而通用汽车上周表示，在由瑞典的科尼赛克牵头、北汽控股作为少数合作伙伴参与的财团退出竞标后，将尝试再用一周时间寻找买家。

Some question whether the deals will ever get done: the Volvo sale has dragged on for months, and GM said this week it would give its attempt to find a buyer just one more week after a bid led by Sweden’s Koenigsegg that included BAIC as a minority partner fell apart.

迄今已签署的唯一一笔此类交易，是通用汽车将把旗下的悍马(Hummer)品牌以大约1.5亿美元，出售给重型设备制造商四川腾中(Sichuan Tengzhong)，但这笔交易尚未获得中国政府的批准。

The only such deal yet signed - in which GM will sell its Hummer unit to the heavy equipment maker, Sichuan Tengzhong for about $150m - has not yet gained Chinese government approval.

然而，上汽与通用汽车达成的向印度销售廉价汽车和小型商用汽车的交易，可能会有所不同。

But SAIC’s deal with GM to sell cheap cars and mini commercial vehicles to India could be different.

上汽强大的财务实力可能有助于通用汽车在印度市场占据更大市场份额，同时令上汽在全球增长最迅速的汽车市场之一获得立足点。

It’s strong financial position could help GM take a bigger share of the Indian market, while giving SAIC a foothold in one of the world’s fastest growing car markets.

一位驻上海的汽车业分析师表示：“这可能是中国一直以来的愿望：忘掉北汽和萨博、吉利和沃尔沃吧，上汽迈出的步伐可能要大得多。”

This could be what China always wanted: forget BAIC and Saab, Geely and Volvo - what SAIC has done is potentially much bigger, said one Shanghai-based car analyst.

中国汽车制造商对全球影响力的争夺目前仍处于初期阶段。

It is still early days in the quest for global power of the Chinese carmaker.

但在外国汽车制造商的中国发展史上，12月4日起码可能是意义重大的一天。

But yesterday was a potentially significant day in the story of foreign carmakers in China, at the very least.

对于通用汽车决定放弃一家增长最快的重要合资企业的控股权，许多分析人士感到困惑不已。

Many analysts were baffled by GM’s decision to give up control of one of fastest growing and important joint ventures.

聚焦亚洲市场的汽车业分析师迈克-邓恩表示：“它在放弃宝贵的地盘。在这个行业，没有人愿意放弃所有权。”

"It’s ceding precious ground," says Mike Dunne, a car analyst who focuses on Asian markets. "Nobody in the industry wants to give up ownership".

但英国咨询公司Intelligence Automotive Asia的董事总经理阿什温•肖泰(Ashvin Chotai)表示，与上汽在印度展开合作的决定，可能表明了通用汽车对双方关系的信心。与中国不同，印度不要求外国汽车制造商一定要与当地合作伙伴联姻。

But Ashvin Chotai, managing director of Intelligence Automotive Asia, a UK-based consultancy, said that the decision to team up with SAIC in India - which unlike China does not require foreign carmakers to take a local partner - could be interpreted as a sign of GM’s confidence in the two companies’ relationship.

“通用汽车不是非得在印度与上汽合作，但它选择了这样做，”他表示。“在没有任何政府压力或限制的情况下，它们选择了与合作伙伴在印度合作。”

GM doesn’t have to work in India with SAIC, but it has chosen to, he said. "Without any government pressure or restrictions, they’ve chosen to work in India with a partner."

他表示，对于由本土制造商主导的商用汽车市场，两家公司进军印度是一项重大进展。

He said that the two companies’ move into India was a significant development for the commercial vehicles market, which is dominated by local producers.