[E459]Charging ahead|经济学人
本文音频及原文摘自杂志The Economist 2016年第31期，Business版块。
Electric cars in China
China’s dirty race for clean vehicles
Jul 30th 2016 | SHANGHAI
AFTER a decade of halting progress[缓慢发展/进步], electric cars are zooming[1] ahead in China. Last year the number of registrations of new electric vehicles overtook[超过;赶上] that in America, making the Middle Kingdom[2] the world’s biggest market (see chart). The category includes electric-only cars as well as plug-in hybrids[充电式混合动力汽车] that can also run on petrol. Analysts expect the market to grow by nearly 50% a year for the rest of this decade.
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Unfortunately, the growth is mostly due to state largesse[3][国家补贴]. The government doles out[4] generous subsidies to local makers of electric vehicles (EVs), to parts suppliers[零部件供应商] and to those who buy the final products. Favoured[受到宠爱的;得到偏爱的;获得优惠的] Chinese firms also benefit from friendly procurement contracts[采购合同;订货合同;采办合同], such as one that the government of Shenzhen, a southern city, handed out this week to BYD, a big EV manufacturer based there, for hundreds of electric buses. It could be worth 1.5 billion yuan ($227m).
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Last year alone China shovelled[5] over 90 billion yuan in subsidies into the industry, which it calls “strategic”. This has led to queues of EVs on the streets, mostly of poor design and quality. China has yet to produce an EV manufacturer that can compete at the level of America’s Tesla Motors[特斯拉汽车].
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Nor does China hold back from[阻止] directly hobbling[6] foreign firms. In June, it denied battery certifications to South Korea’s LG and Samsung, while granting them to inferior[较差的;次的] local suppliers. Protectionism[(贸易)保护主义], says a car-industry analyst who prefers to comment anonymously. Desperate to stay in the market, Samsung said this month it will spend 3 billion yuan on a stake[股份] in BYD.
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At least the government is encouraging other Chinese firms, including the country’s tech giants, to innovate in the field. Tencent, a gaming and social media firm, is developing internet-connected EVs with Taiwan’s Foxconn[富士康]. Alibaba, an e-commerce firm, is providing data and cloud-computing services to Kandi Technologies[康迪科技公司], a local EV-maker that is popularising[宣传,推广;使大众化] the sharing of the vehicles.
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One smaller upstart is NextEV[蔚来汽车], which is backed by Sequoia Capital[红杉资本(风险投资公司)], a Californian venture fund. It is in the midst of raising $1 billion and plans to launch a Chinese-backed sports car this year to challenge Tesla. NextEV’s chairman, William Li, has a clear view on state help[7]. “Subsidies can’t make drivers love EVs.”
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注释
[1]zoom
1) to move very quickly 快速移动
They got into the car and zoomed off.
他们钻进汽车一溜烟地开走了。
In the last few metres of the race, she suddenly zoomed ahead.
比赛的最后几米中，她突然冲到了前面。
2) If prices or sales zoom, they increase suddenly and quickly （价格或销售额）猛涨
House prices suddenly zoomed last year.
去年房价飙升。
[2]the Middle Kingdom：China, a traditional translation of its Chinese name
[3]largesse [lɑː'(d)ʒes]
willingness to give money, or money given to poor people by rich people 慷慨捐助，施舍；（给穷人的）善款
The national theatre will be the main beneficiary of the millionaire's largesse.
国家大剧院将是那位百万富翁慷慨捐助的主要受益者。
[4]dole sth out：to give something, usually money, to several people 分发（钱等），施舍
[5]shovel ['ʃʌv(ə)l]
to move with a shovel 铲起；用铲子移动或移开
Would you give me a hand shovelling the snow away from the garage door?
你能帮我把车库门前的雪铲走吗？
[6]hobble ['hɒb(ə)l]
1) to limit something or control the freedom of someone 约束，限制
A long list of amendments have hobbled the new legislation.
一长串修正案限制了这项新立法。
2) to walk in an awkward way, usually because the feet or legs are injured 一瘸一拐地行走，跛行
The last time I saw Rachel she was hobbling around with a stick.
上次我见到雷切尔的时候，她拄着拐杖一瘸一拐的。
[7]state help 指代上文的state largesse
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以上言论不代表本人立场。
原文摘自The economist，仅外语学习之用。
其中生词解释来源于Cambridge Dictionaries
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