????雖然歐洲依然在經濟危機的苦海里掙扎，但至少有一個歐洲之子仍在蓬勃發展，它就是德國大眾汽車公司（Volkswagen）。它的目標是在2020年前成為世界第一大汽車集團，如今，它正在大踏步前進。大眾積極的擴張計劃在很多領域都已經結出了豐碩的成果。兩大控股家族——皮耶希和保時捷家族的爭端也已經告一段落。全球競爭對手的困境對它自然也不是問題。

????從賬面上看，去年大眾的營業利潤達到了近150億美元，已然位居全球第一，而且大眾今年的目標依然維持在這個水平。大眾首席執行官馬丁?文德恩表示：“汽車普及率的不斷提高為我們的增長計劃帶來了一股東風。”他指的是，雖然歐洲汽車廠商景氣不佳，但新興市場的汽車銷量卻日益強勁。去年文德恩的個人年薪為1,750萬歐元（約合2，280萬人民幣），是前年的一倍多，同時還超過了DAX德國綜指任何一家上市公司CEO的年薪。去年德國大眾在全球共售出了827萬輛汽車，大幅超過了前年629萬輛的成績。

????今年，大眾集團仍在繼續執行將斯洛伐克工廠的產量翻一番的計劃，這座工廠位于斯洛伐克第一大城市伯拉第斯拉瓦。大眾集團首席執行官上周三表示，該工廠的汽車產量將由去年的21萬臺增長到今年的40萬臺以上。這家工廠過去只生產大型SUV。不過自從工廠引入了新型的大眾Up微型車生產線后，產量出現了快速增長。Up汽車2007年就已經亮相，當時還只是一系列概念車的統稱，但去年它就已經開始投入量產。Up或許將擴展成大眾的一個環保小車品牌，就像豐田（Toyota）的普銳斯（Prius）混合動力汽車系列一樣。

????大眾是汽車業中少有的一個在各個不相關的市場上都能盈利的廠商。它的產品涵蓋極廣，從深受大學新生歡迎的“乞丐版”掀背車，直到超奢華的賓利（它是億萬富翁妻子們的最愛）。大眾集團旗下現擁有奧迪（Audi）、賓利（Bentley）、布加迪（Bugatti）、蘭博基尼（Lamborghini）、SEAT、斯柯達（?koda），以及卡車生產商斯卡尼亞（Scania）等品牌，同時還擁有保時捷（Porsche）公司49.9%的股份。汽車網站TrueCar.com市場情報副總裁杰西?托普拉克表示：“大眾表明，它有能力在正確的價格上為正確的市場生產正確的汽車。它在沃夫斯堡市有一幢樓，整裝樓里的人什么也不做，只管優化定價——而且他們非常擅長這項工作。”

????大眾集團主打的一個豪車子品牌奧迪是另外一個亮點。長期以來奧迪在美國一直銷量平平，但最近它在美國打了一個漂亮的翻身仗，銷量出現飆升。本月初，奧迪提高了它的銷量目標，預測到2015年前將售出150萬輛奧迪。在美國之外，中國、印度和俄羅斯等國對豪華車的強勁需求也促進了奧迪的熱賣。去年奧迪取代梅塞德斯-奔馳（Mercedes-Benz），成為全球銷量第二的高端汽車品牌。雖然奧迪的銷量仍然趕不上寶馬，但歸功于大眾集團帶來的規模經濟效應，奧迪在盈利性方面依然略勝寶馬一籌，因為后者只是一家獨立的汽車廠商。

????As Europe wallows in economic doldrums, at least one native son is thriving. Germany's Volkswagen AG, which has its sights set on becoming the world's top auto firm before the decade is out, is making headway. Across a broad range of businesses, the company's aggressive expansion plans are bearing fruit and the Greek dynamics of the firm's controlling families have settled down. The woes of its global rivals haven't hurt, either.

????VW is already global champ of the bottom line, with an operating profit of nearly $15 billion last year and a goal to match that amount this year. Martin Winterkorn, chief executive, said "the unbroken automotive boom is providing additional tailwinds for our growth plans," referring to stronger sales in emerging markets, rather than in Europe where auto makers are struggling. Winterkorn drew a salary of 17.5 million Euros ($22.8 million) in 2011, more than double the year before -- and more than any chief executive of all companies listed on the DAX, Germany's main stock index. VW sold 8.27 million vehicles globally in 2011, up from 6.29 million the year before.

????Most immediately, VW isn't backing down from a promise to double production this year at its Slovakian factory in Bratislava. The chief executive of the automaker's Volkswagen Group said on Wednesday that production will rise to more than 400,000 vehicles this year, compared to just over 210,000 last year. The plant used to build only large SUVs, but production is expanding thanks to the company's new Up minicar. The Up was shown as a variety of concept vehicles since 2007, before going into production last year. It could expand into a sub-brand of smaller, eco-friendly vehicles much like Toyota's (TM) Prius hybrid line.

????VW has become that rare species of automotive giant that can generate profits in disparate markets, from barebones hatchbacks popular with college freshman to the uber-tony Bentley, vehicle of choice for billionaires' wives. The Volkswagen Group now owns Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and ?koda as well as the truck manufacturer Scania. It has a 49.9% stake in Porsche. "VW has shown it can build the right cars for the right market at the right price," says Jesse Toprak, vice president of market intelligence for TrueCar.com, an automotive website. "It has a whole building full of people in Wolfsburg that do nothing but optimize pricing – and they're very good at it."

????Audi, VW's mainline luxury-car subsidiary, is another bright spot. Long regarded as an also-ran in America, it has undergone a remarkable turnaround and seen sales surge. Earlier this month, it pulled forward its volume target, predicting it will sell 1.5 million vehicles before 2015. Outside of the U.S., Audi is benefiting from strong demand for luxury cars in China, India and Russia. Better yet, Audi overtook Mercedes-Benz as the second-largest premium brand by vehicle sales last year. And though it still sells fewer vehicles than BMW, it flew past its main rival in terms of profitability thanks to the economies of scale its parent makes possible. (BMW, by contrast, is an independent company.)