正文翻譯

China’s EV Makers Outshine Global Rivals, but a Rocky Road Lies Ahead

【中國(guó)的電動(dòng)車制造商超越了全球競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手，但前路依然坎坷】

SHANGHAI—China’s car makers are going full throttle to increase production of electric vehicles, driving the world’s shift away from gasoline-powered cars. But as foreign rivals seek to claw back their lost market share, the road ahead looks perilous.

上海-中國(guó)的汽車制造商正在全力以赴地增加電動(dòng)汽車的生產(chǎn)，推動(dòng)世界由汽油驅(qū)動(dòng)轉(zhuǎn)向新能源驅(qū)動(dòng)。但是，隨著外國(guó)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手試圖奪回他們失去的市場(chǎng)份額，未來(lái)的道路看起來(lái)很危險(xiǎn)。

Electric vehicles took the limelight at China’s premier auto fair in Shanghai this week—the first major automotive event since the pandemic began three years ago that has been accessible to both local and foreign visitors. Gathering the biggest crowds were the Chinese-brand cars.

本周在上海舉行的中國(guó)最重要的汽車展覽會(huì)上，電動(dòng)汽車成為焦點(diǎn)--這是自三年前疫情以來(lái)，第一次國(guó)內(nèi)外參展者都能參加的大型汽車活動(dòng)。中國(guó)品牌的汽車聚集了最多的人群。
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The growing confidence of China’s electric-car makers was evident in the array of new models on show, from BYD Co.’s Seagull, a four-seater hatchback with a starting price under $11,500, to premium offerings from up-and-comers such as Li Auto Inc., NIO Inc. and XPeng Inc.

從比亞迪公司的海鷗（Seagull），一款起價(jià)低于11,500美元的四座掀背車，到理想汽車公司、蔚來(lái)公司和小鵬公司等后起之秀的高端產(chǎn)品一系列新車型將中國(guó)電動(dòng)汽車制造商日益增強(qiáng)的信心展露無(wú)遺。

Three years ago, it seemed like everyone was still aspiring for the electrification of vehicles, said Nissan Motor Co.’s Ashwani Gupta, who was on his first visit since China removed almost all of its border restrictions in January. Electrified vehicles took off far faster than many people expected, the Japanese auto maker’s chief operating officer said, adding that China has “crossed the tipping point” of accepting them as normal cars.

日產(chǎn)汽車的古普塔表示，三年前，大家似乎都還在立志實(shí)現(xiàn)汽車電氣化。這是中國(guó)于1月份取消幾乎所有邊境限制后這家日本車企的首席運(yùn)營(yíng)官首次來(lái)華。古普塔稱，電動(dòng)汽車的崛起速度遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過(guò)很多人之前的預(yù)期，他還表示，中國(guó)已經(jīng)跨越了消費(fèi)者愿意接受電動(dòng)汽車作為常規(guī)車輛的臨界點(diǎn)。

Last year, a quarter of the new cars sold in China were electric or plug-ins, with the number of vehicles nearly doubling from 2021. Sales of internal-combustion-engine cars fell 13%. Foreign joint ventures are struggling to retain their share of the world’s biggest car market, as domestic brands successfully captured consumer tastes in the booming EV segment.

在中國(guó)去年銷售的新車中，有四分之一是電動(dòng)汽車或插電式混合動(dòng)力汽車，銷量較2021年增長(zhǎng)近一倍。中國(guó)去年的燃油汽車銷量下降13%。本土品牌在蓬勃發(fā)展的電動(dòng)車領(lǐng)域成功贏得消費(fèi)者喜愛(ài)，中外合資車企也在努力保住市場(chǎng)份額。

But as the sector grows more crowded, brands must try harder to differentiate their products.

但隨著該領(lǐng)域競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的加劇，各品牌必須在差異化競(jìng)爭(zhēng)上加大力度。

Displays as well as software and apps are among key interior features that Chinese consumers favor. Inside the L9, a six-seater plug-in hybrid produced by Li Auto, a wide display monitors the car’s condition for the driver, while streaming videos and movies to entertain passengers.

消費(fèi)者青睞的關(guān)鍵內(nèi)部功能包括顯示屏、軟件和應(yīng)用程序。在理想汽車生產(chǎn)的六座插電式混合動(dòng)力車型L9里，一個(gè)寬大的顯示屏既可以為司機(jī)監(jiān)控車況，也能播放視頻和電影來(lái)為乘客提供娛樂(lè)。
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Digital and infotainment features are particularly important for Chinese customers, auto makers say—an area in which the domestic players have taken a clear lead over foreign brands.

多家汽車生產(chǎn)商稱，數(shù)字功能和信息娛樂(lè)功能對(duì)中國(guó)客戶特別重要，在這個(gè)領(lǐng)域，中國(guó)本土車企已明顯領(lǐng)先外國(guó)品牌。

Sleek and futuristic exteriors are increasingly hallmarks of premium Chinese EVs that target the same segment of buyers as Tesla Inc. The inspiration for the design of XPeng’s G6, a coupe SUV, came straight from science-fiction, the auto maker says. An illuminated strip runs across the car’s hood, and the finish of the body appears fluid.

時(shí)尚且具有未來(lái)氣息的外觀正日益成為中國(guó)高端電動(dòng)汽車的標(biāo)志，這些電動(dòng)車針對(duì)的是與特斯拉(Tesla Inc., TSLA)相同的目標(biāo)客戶群。小鵬汽車稱，該公司轎跑SUV G6的設(shè)計(jì)靈感直接來(lái)自科幻小說(shuō)。該車型的引擎蓋邊緣有一條貫穿式燈帶，而且車體線條流暢。

Overall, the sophistication of Chinese electric cars on display in Shanghai is a sign of how far the local brands have come since a decade or so ago, when the country’s auto shows were filled with quirky and awkward-looking homegrown vehicles that also trailed behind foreign brands in fuel efficiency.

總體而言，上海車展展示的中國(guó)電動(dòng)汽車的先進(jìn)性能表明，自約十年前以來(lái)，本土品牌已經(jīng)取得了長(zhǎng)足進(jìn)步。大約十年前的中國(guó)車展還充斥著造型古怪笨拙的國(guó)產(chǎn)汽車，在燃油效率方面也落后于外國(guó)品牌。

At the time, China’s consumers aspired to own foreign brands, which built a dominant presence as they rolled out their global models developed overseas.

當(dāng)時(shí)的中國(guó)消費(fèi)者渴望擁有外國(guó)品牌車，這些品牌在推出海外開(kāi)發(fā)的全球車型時(shí)占據(jù)了主導(dǎo)地位。
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Now, the tide has turned.

目前的形勢(shì)，已今非昔比。

“Our approach needs to be: learn modestly,” said Toyota Motor Corp. Executive Vice President Hiroki Nakajima. “The closest path to delivering the cars that Chinese customers want is to listen more closely to their voice and to do development in China.” Toyota showed two concept electric vehicles at the show, which it plans to start selling next year.

豐田汽車公司(Toyota Motor Corp., 7203.TO)執(zhí)行副總裁中島裕樹(shù)(Hiroki Nakajima)表示，豐田的做法應(yīng)該是：虛心學(xué)習(xí)；要交付中國(guó)客戶心儀的汽車，最近的路徑是更仔細(xì)地傾聽(tīng)他們的聲音，并在中國(guó)搞開(kāi)發(fā)。豐田汽車在此次車展上展示了兩款概念電動(dòng)車，計(jì)劃明年開(kāi)始銷售。

International car makers, including Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Co., as well as Nissan and Honda Motor Co., emphasized their decades of experience building cars, as well as their track records for safety and reliability.

包括大眾汽車(Volkswagen AG)和福特汽車公司(Ford Motor Co., F)，以及日產(chǎn)汽車和本田汽車(Honda Motor Co., HMC)在內(nèi)的國(guó)際汽車制造商都強(qiáng)調(diào)了自身數(shù)十年的造車經(jīng)驗(yàn)，以及在安全和可靠性方面的過(guò)往紀(jì)錄。

Volkswagen, which brought dozens of executives and managers from Germany to the auto show in Shanghai, showed its ID.7 electric sedan at the show, which is set to go on sale in China this fall. Some versions can run up to 435 miles on one charge. The German auto maker’s market share dropped in China in recent years as the sales of its ID electric series failed to take off.

大眾汽車從德國(guó)派了數(shù)十名高管和經(jīng)理參加上海車展，在車展上展示了ID.7電動(dòng)轎車，該車將于今年秋天在中國(guó)上市。該汽車的一些版本一次充電最多可行駛435英里。由于ID系列電動(dòng)汽車的銷售表現(xiàn)不佳，近年來(lái)大眾汽車在中國(guó)的市場(chǎng)份額下降。

Volkswagen said it would invest around 1 billion euros, equivalent to $1.1 billion, to build a development and procurement center for electric cars in China, with the aim of reducing the time it takes to introduce a new vehicle by about 30%.

大眾汽車表示，將投資約10億歐元（約合11億美元）在中國(guó)建立一個(gè)電動(dòng)汽車開(kāi)發(fā)和采購(gòu)中心，希望把推出新車的周期縮減約30%。

Honda said it is speeding up its electrification plan in China by five years and now aims to sell only electric vehicles in the country by 2035.

本田汽車稱，將把在中國(guó)的電動(dòng)化計(jì)劃加快五年，現(xiàn)在的目標(biāo)是最晚到2035年在中國(guó)只銷售電動(dòng)汽車。

Growing competition from foreign brands beefing up their electric lineup in China isn’t the only challenge local manufacturers face. They must also survive a continuing price war and, for some, turn profitable and scale up production.

外國(guó)品牌在中國(guó)加強(qiáng)電動(dòng)車陣容帶來(lái)日益激烈的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，但這并非中國(guó)本土制造商面臨的唯一挑戰(zhàn)。中國(guó)制造商還必須在持續(xù)的價(jià)格戰(zhàn)中生存下來(lái)，對(duì)一些公司來(lái)說(shuō)，還要實(shí)現(xiàn)盈利并擴(kuò)大生產(chǎn)規(guī)模。

Tesla, which has a factory in Shanghai, wasn’t present at the auto show. The company was among the first car makers to slash prices in China, after the government phased out its nationwide subsidies for EVs.

在上海設(shè)有工廠的特斯拉沒(méi)有參加此次車展。政府逐步取消對(duì)電動(dòng)車的全國(guó)性補(bǔ)貼后，該公司是第一批在中國(guó)降價(jià)的汽車制造商之一。

Tesla will likely find price cuts easier to endure than most in the industry. The world’s leading EV maker on Wednesday reported its operating margin—a measure of profitability—was 11.4% in the first three months of this year, among the highest in the auto industry.

特斯拉承受降價(jià)的能力很可能會(huì)強(qiáng)于大多數(shù)同行。這家世界領(lǐng)先的電動(dòng)車制造商周三公布今年前三個(gè)月?tīng)I(yíng)業(yè)利潤(rùn)率為11.4%，這在業(yè)內(nèi)數(shù)一數(shù)二；營(yíng)業(yè)利潤(rùn)率是一個(gè)衡量盈利能力的指標(biāo)。

Meanwhile, three of China’s most competitive challengers—Li Auto, NIO and XPeng, all listed in the U.S.—aren’t consistently profitable. NIO and XPeng had net losses last year, while Li Auto booked an operating loss.

與此同時(shí)，躋身特斯拉最具競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力中國(guó)挑戰(zhàn)者之列的理想汽車、蔚來(lái)集團(tuán)、小鵬汽車尚未實(shí)現(xiàn)持續(xù)盈利。這三家車企的股票都在美國(guó)上市。蔚來(lái)集團(tuán)和小鵬汽車去年錄得凈虧損，理想汽車錄得經(jīng)營(yíng)虧損。

XPeng’s Chief Executive He Xiaopeng said this week that a car maker must sell three million vehicles a year to survive beyond a decade, according to a spokeswoman. The company sold around 120,800 vehicles in 2022.

據(jù)小鵬汽車一位發(fā)言人稱，該公司首席執(zhí)行官何小鵬本周表示，淘汰賽剛剛開(kāi)始，300萬(wàn)輛的年銷量規(guī)模將只是汽車公司的入場(chǎng)券。該公司2022年售出約12.08萬(wàn)輛汽車。

With China now at the center of the global car makers’ newly invigorated electrification game, and the fierce competition among domestic brands, the country’s EV market will likely continue to evolve rapidly. “Market shares in EVs will be volatile as the development is still very dynamic,” said Juergen Reers, a managing director focused on the automotive sector at consulting firm Accenture.

鑒于中國(guó)在外國(guó)車企新近掀起的電動(dòng)化浪潮中居于中心位置，且本土品牌之間競(jìng)爭(zhēng)激烈，該國(guó)電動(dòng)車市場(chǎng)很可能會(huì)繼續(xù)快速演變。"咨詢公司埃森哲(Accenture)專注于汽車行業(yè)的董事總經(jīng)理Juergen Reers說(shuō)，電動(dòng)汽車領(lǐng)域的發(fā)展仍充滿活力，該領(lǐng)域的市場(chǎng)份額分布將波動(dòng)不定。