How to handle automotive translations

Operating as an automotive translation company means understanding a massive and complex industry. Automotive translation services relate to anything from cars to heavy industry and machines, translating key documents from one language into another. It sits at the core of international business for parts, machines and vehicles.

Automotive translations unique for each part

Working with an automotive translation company means recognising that machines and their parts are more complicated than they’re given credit for, which is why we specialise so closely in the industry. The work we do requires:

- Expert knowledge of the source language and the required target language
- Specific terminology within the automotive industry in both languages
- A regularly updating lexicon of terminology as technological advances create the need for greater specificity

As a result of industry advancements and the need for specific parts and functions, automotive translation services are required to keep up with trends and changes and ensure translations are considerate of new requirements.

Phrases, not words

One similarity between automotive and other fields of translation is that the automotive translation agency will focus their efforts on the translation of phrases, rather than individual words. Aside from the usual reasons for doing this, including the fact that direct translations can be illegible and incoherent, an automotive translation company needs to be sure that their translation is accurate for the part or model specification in question. As many phrases in automotive translation contain similar words, it’s important to treat each phrase as a piece to translate, in order to afford confusing the audience.

A diverse audience for automotive translation

While many industry specific translations are typically only read by the people working in those fields, automotive translation services are targeted towards multiple people at the same time, for different reasons. As a result of this, there’s a need for clarity regardless of industry experience, so that anyone can understand the translation correctly. Included in the audience for automotive translations are:

- People, looking to purchase vehicles or machinery for personal use
- Purchasing managers, who deal with commercial purchases and industrial equipmen
- Marketers and salespeople, who need to understand the products they’re selling, whether for personal or professional us
- Manufacturers who require parts and equipment from third parties, who need to ensure they’re using the correct piece.

Balancing the needs of the many people who may make use of the work of an automotive translation company is a difficult but important task, relying on industry experience and an in-depth understanding of both the source and target languages.

Why should you use a professional automotive translation company?

The experience that comes with hiring professional translators cannot be understated, particularly in a field like this. An error in translation from someone who does not understand the industry can cause:

- A loss of profit, from the ordering of incorrect parts or machines
- Production delays, particularly where parts are required for machinery to be completed
- Safety risks, when a part or piece of machinery is not fit for the required purpose and was ordered on the back of an incorrect translation
- Reputational damage, which can have long-term negative effects for all parties involved

It is better to mediate these risks by making use of an automotive translation company rather than someone without the relevant industry experience, even if they speak both the source and target languages.

What’s next?

Check out the list of services we provide, and the language pairs on offer. When you’re ready, get in touch for a quote and see how we can help you with your automotive translation needs. We also have specially-trained automotive NMT engines for the Baltic languages!