????作為日產(chǎn)汽車(chē)（Nissan Motor）旗下的豪車(chē)品牌，英菲尼迪（Infiniti）一直以來(lái)都在拖后腿。現(xiàn)在日產(chǎn)挖來(lái)了原奧迪（Audi）美國(guó)分公司的負(fù)責(zé)人,，或許終于可以讓這個(gè)品牌揚(yáng)眉吐氣了,。

????在過(guò)去19年里，約翰?德?尼琛一直是奧迪在美國(guó)的負(fù)責(zé)人,。近日,，日產(chǎn)CEO卡洛斯?高森將他挖至麾下。尼琛將在英菲尼迪的香港總部負(fù)責(zé)該品牌的全球運(yùn)營(yíng),。當(dāng)然,，他的任務(wù)里有相當(dāng)大的一部分，是要使英菲尼迪在全球增長(zhǎng)最快的汽車(chē)市場(chǎng)——也就是中國(guó)——占有一席之地,。高森從奧迪挖人其實(shí)并沒(méi)有什么好奇怪的,。“英菲尼迪一直以來(lái)都患有‘奧迪嫉妒癥’”,，汽車(chē)網(wǎng)站Edmunds.com的分析師米歇爾?克雷布斯指出：“奧迪正是英菲尼迪一直想成為的那種年輕,、時(shí)尚的品牌。另外奧迪也是成功的德系豪華車(chē)品牌中的一顆新星,?！倍⒎颇岬显谂c豐田（Toyota）的豪車(chē)品牌雷克薩斯（Lexus）的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)中一直落于下風(fēng)。

????評(píng)測(cè)者一般都會(huì)對(duì)英菲尼迪給出很高的評(píng)價(jià),，不過(guò)在經(jīng)銷(xiāo)商門(mén)店里,，英菲尼迪卻沒(méi)法吸引富人們像對(duì)待梅賽德斯-奔馳（Mercedes）、寶馬（BMW）,、奧迪和雷克薩斯（Lexus）那樣一擲千金,。英菲尼迪的營(yíng)銷(xiāo)本來(lái)就沒(méi)有給人留下什么深刻的印象，現(xiàn)在更是變得松散無(wú)力,。

????德?尼琛曾經(jīng)帶領(lǐng)困境重重的美國(guó)奧迪實(shí)現(xiàn)復(fù)興,，他完成了他的前任們都沒(méi)能完成的任務(wù)。尼琛的美國(guó)奧迪復(fù)興之路離不開(kāi)系統(tǒng)的規(guī)劃和執(zhí)行,，這個(gè)案例將來(lái)很可能會(huì)成為汽車(chē)高管們研究的對(duì)象,。雖然在奧迪的老家歐洲，奧迪一直被視為與寶馬和奔馳同一檔次的品牌,，但就在距今不久之前,，奧迪在美國(guó)的認(rèn)知度還頗為有限。尼琛堪稱是奧迪在美國(guó)實(shí)現(xiàn)品牌重塑的總戰(zhàn)略設(shè)計(jì)師,。

????外界認(rèn)為尼琛是一位固執(zhí)的,、毫不妥協(xié)的管理者，這樣的個(gè)性未必會(huì)受美國(guó)經(jīng)銷(xiāo)商的喜歡,。比如一般來(lái)說(shuō),，經(jīng)銷(xiāo)商要求的車(chē)型數(shù)量總是多于公司想要提供的數(shù)量,。但是在尼琛的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下，美國(guó)奧迪決定小心地控制奧迪的稀缺性和增長(zhǎng)速度,，以便保持品牌的高端地位,，避免出現(xiàn)通用凱迪拉克（Cadillac）和福特林肯（Lincoln）那種因?yàn)榇蛘鄱鴵p害銷(xiāo)量的事。

????在上世紀(jì)80年代末,，由于有車(chē)主指責(zé)奧迪的旗艦車(chē)型奧迪5000存在突然加速的隱患,，因而在6年的時(shí)間里，奧迪在美銷(xiāo)量驟跌80%以上,。事實(shí)上相關(guān)指責(zé)從來(lái)沒(méi)有被證實(shí)過(guò),，不過(guò)奧迪還是增加了一些相應(yīng)的安全配置，并且調(diào)整了踏板的布局,。因?yàn)閾?jù)說(shuō)在此之前,，奧迪車(chē)的踏板總是讓駕駛員覺(jué)得他的腳正踩在剎車(chē)上，而不是踩在油門(mén)上,。

????By poaching the head of Audi in the U.S., Nissan Motor may finally have found the key executive to lead the turnaround of Infiniti, the Japanese automaker's perennially lagging luxury division.

????Johan de Nysschen, who ran Audi in the U.S. for the last 19 years, was recruited by none other than Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's magnetic CEO. De Nysschen will run Infiniti worldwide from its new Hong Kong headquarters. Not surprisingly, a big part of his mission to make Infiniti relevant in the world's biggest automotive growth market, China.

????That Ghosn would pluck somebody for the German automaker is not much of a surprise. "Infiniti has had 'Audi envy' forever," said Michelle Krebs, automotive analyst for Edmunds.com, an automotive website. "Audi is the younger, hipper brand that Infiniti has wanted to be. Audi also was the upstart among the more successful German luxury brands," just as Infiniti has been an also-ran to Lexus, Toyota's luxury division.

????Reviewers have often rated Infiniti models highly, though no one at the franchise has ever been able to unlock the intangibles of prestige and desirability that motivate well-heeled buyers to pay the same high prices captured by Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Lexus. Infiniti marketing has careened from forgettable to incoherent.

????Enter De Nysschen, who led the resurgence of a troubled Audi after predecessors floundered. He led a methodically planned and executed renaissance of the brand in the U.S. which is likely to be a case study for future automotive executives. Though in its native Europe Audi has long been seen in league with BMW and Mercedes-Benz, in America its perception until recently lagged. De Nysschen was the architect of a grand strategy that remedied that.

????De Nysschen is known as a tenacious and uncompromising manager, not necessarily a favorite of U.S. dealers. For instance, dealers routinely demanded more Audis and different models than what the company was willing to supply. But Audi, under De Nysschen's guidance, has determined to control scarcity and growth meticulously so as to maintain the brand's prestige status and avoid the discounting that has hurt franchises like General Motors' (GM) Cadillac and Ford's (F) Lincoln.

????During a six-year period in the late 1980s, Audi's sales in the U.S. plunged more than 80% amid accusations that its flagship Audi 5000 was prone to unintended acceleration. The accusations were never confirmed, though Audi added some safety features as a result and changed the placement of foot pedals that were thought to lead some drivers to assume their foot was on the brake rather than the accelerator.