Names for automobiles are very subjective, what sounds great in one particular language may mean something rather different, or even rude, in another. Take for example the Mitsubishi Pajero, Pajero sounds great in English and Anglo-Saxon countries loved the foreign sounding name of Mitsubishi?s flagship SUV. Over in Spanish speaking countries and some parts of Europe the Pajero name was dropped due to Pajero basically meaning one who masturbates too much, or a wanker for those that are not ashamed to swear. Mitsubishi hastily called the Pajero the Shogun in the UK and the Montero in Latino majority nations (inc the USA). The Honda Fit was originally planned to be called the Fitta, but in Scandinavian countries a Fitta is a rude word for a lady?s front bottom.
In the Chinese market, Chinese consumers rejoiced when Skoda announced plans to launch the Skoda Superb in the Chinese market, a full-sized sedan for mid size money! It sounded like a bargain. Consumers were quick to turn the Superb into the Super-B, B of course being yet another rude name for a lady?s parts in Chinese, effectively Skoda launched the Super-Cunt. Not that it went against it, the Superb went onto be a strong seller, but once you see it, you can?t unsee it.
Chinese car manufacturers themselves are terrible at choosing names, they generally go for the usual manly connotations in Chinese ? strength, metal, fast/speed, etc, sometimes they go for the utilitarian with their serial no?s that show the cars body style, displacement, and a whole array of requirements, but how do you tell your friend you drive an SL7R25V6? You can?t, basically.
Besturn is a great example of a car brand gone bad, FAW probably thought that the ??(Ben Tung ? fast mover) name plate probably sounded great in Chinese (as it does) but didn?t give much thought to the English name of Besturn. Besturn can be broken down into two parts, either its Bes-Turn or its Best-Urn. Selling a car as an Urn is not going to be a great selling point.
Chinese manufacturers entering into overseas markets also have some issues, for example Great Wall Motors never really took the international market seriously during its early days, as it was busy grappling with internal demand. Its Hover SUV was a great success and was quickly exported all over the world, the only problem being that many people in many countries went ahead and registered Hover as an automotive brand, Great Wall have had to use the less cool sounding Haval, which itself sounds like Hovel, in global markets.
In Brazil Chery?s A1 compact mini car has become the Face. Is this the face you want to have? That?s not so bad I suppose, in Chile the Chery A3 is simply known as the Chery Skin. Is Skin such a great name for a car? Perhaps our South American readers can chip in and let us know, I have visions of Hannibal Lecter.
In Egypt Zotye called their miniature 2008 SUV the XPLOSION, probably not the best name for a car in a region that is famed for its car focused bombings. Other manufacturers try to play on auspicious terms to find a name, Geely seems to be the only manufacturer that has been able to bridge its Chinese name (Ji Li) and English names, other manufacturers such as Lucky Day seemed to be destined for the dustbin with names that were untranslatable or non-workable outside of China.
Although there are likely to be some early day translation issues as Chinese manufacturers get to grips with foreign cultures that are largely alien to them, the day will come when Chery, Geely, and Great Wall are relatively well known brands. Western consumers initially found Toyota, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Kia and Hyundai unusual to the tongue and ear, but eventually they have become just as well known as Ford, Rover, Fiat, Rover or Chrysler. One major problem that Chinese manufacturers have so far, is an unwillingness or oversight in working with marketing people or language experts to pick up on issues that might give them a headache once they begin exporting or selling into overseas markets, the next logical step after opening foreign markets would be to retain local talent who are able to work up the management chain to say ?Hey, that name is really not going to work in XXX due to it being XXX.?
Ash
Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.
More Posts - Website
Source: http://www.chinacartimes.com/2012/08/20/automotive-naming-disasters-china/
black panther party frank martin pink slime eagle cam us soccer trayvon martin case affordable care act
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.