经济学人下载:电动汽车 马力十足

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Electric cars
电动汽车

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马力十足

Tesla gains new admirers as it heads towards the mass market
面向大众市场，特斯拉赢得许多新的追随者

IF COMFORTABLY outpacing your rivals is the main measure of automotive achievement, Tesla's electric car is a resounding success.
如果说舒舒服服超过竞争对手是汽车行业中衡量成功的主要标准，那么特斯拉电动车就是这个行业中响当当的成功者。

The Model S last year outsold its nearest luxury rival, Mercedes's petrol-engined S-class, by 30% inAmerica.
在美国市场中，特斯拉Model S型电动车与最接近的同类型豪华轿车奔驰燃油动力S级轿车相比，前者销量高出30%。

And in its top specification the Tesla will also beat the German car in the race from 0-60mph.
从特斯拉的高规格中可以看出它将在60英里/小时之内的时速上打败德国车。

As a battery-maker Tesla is also moving fast.
在电池制造业方面，特斯拉也在迅速前进。

This week it announced plans to build a gigafactory inAmericato make lithium-ion power-packs, that it hopes will propel its vehicles to the mainstream.
这周特斯拉宣布，计划在美国建造超级电池工厂来生产锂离子能量包，并希望以此可以推动它的电动车成为主流。

Tesla's acceleration has been rapid.
特斯拉的发展速度一直很惊人。

Launched a decade ago by Elon Musk, a founder of PayPal and serial tech entrepreneur, last year it sold around 22,000 cars and by the end of 2014 hopes to be making1,000 aweek.
十年前，身为贝宝创始人、工程企业家的埃隆马斯克开发的的特斯拉在去年卖出22，000左右辆，而在2014年底之前预期每周售出1,000辆。

In early 2015 Tesla will add the Model X, a medium-sized SUV, to its range.
在2015年初，特斯拉将新增中等SUV车型Modle X。

However, Tesla's impressive growth has not yet translated into significant profits.
但是，特斯拉如此惊人的高销量还没有转化为利润，

A series of battery fires also briefly dented sales growth last year.
况且去年一系列的电池火灾事件也使特斯拉的销量有所下降。

Nevertheless, Tesla's shares surged on February 25th, to value the company at over 30 billion after Morgan Stanley, a bank, joined its adoring fans.
但是，在摩根史丹利银行成为崇拜它的粉丝后，公司价值超过300亿美元，2月25日特斯拉的销量还是猛增了。

It reckons that the battery factory will not only propel it along the road to mass manufacturing but also make it a leading competitor in low-cost energy storage, the key to making renewable energy more practical.
摩根史丹利银行认为，电池工厂将不只在大批量生产下推动特斯拉发展，还会使它成为低成本能量储存电池的领军者，

The bank is also confident that Tesla'sSilicon Valleylocation will put it in the driverless front seat of autonomous motoring.
并相信特斯拉硅谷基地将会带领着特斯拉成为无人驾驶领域的先驱。

A recent meeting with Apple, and the iPad-like control panel of the Model S, have convinced some observers that a takeover and an iCar are around the corner, although Mr Musk insists that his firm is not for sale.
尽管马斯克坚持说他不会卖公司，但近期特斯拉与苹果高层的一次会面和它生产的类平板电脑控制面板的Model S的面市令一些观察员相信特斯拉的收购和iCar不久就会出现。

Tesla has defied its doubters with the success of the Model S, a smartly styled luxury saloon.
特斯拉已经用它Model S的成功击败了它的怀疑者。

It may not share the outrageous looks of a supercar like the Lamborghini Aventador, but it has the performance without the 400,000-plus price tag.
这是一款精简风格的豪华版电动车，虽然它不像兰博基尼的艾文塔多那样拥有夸张外表的超跑，但它的表现绝对比得过了40万美元以上的价格。

The most basic Model S costs 64,000 inAmerica.
最基本的Modle S在美国的税后价是64，000美元。

This has won it rave reviews in the motoring press, often sniffy about other electric cars with limited ranges and duff looks.
这些为它在汽车新闻赢得了惊呼的评论，它经常嘲笑其他电动车里程受限、外观无型。

By designing a large car with a big battery pack, Tesla has diminished range anxiety—one version can do 310 miles between charges.
特斯拉用大容量电池打造巨型车，这就让它消除了里程焦虑-有一款车充电一次可以行驶310英里。

But Tesla is so far in a niche, albeit with an incredibly loyal base of wealthy buyers.
除了一批极度忠诚而又富有的消费者以外，特斯拉目前正处于一个十分有前景的市场当中。

A Tesla is a more stylish way of displaying environmentalist credentials than a lumpen Toyota Prius and more practical than a Ferrari—putting two child seats in the back boosts the capacity to seven passengers.
特斯拉比落魄的丰田普锐斯更能体现环保，比法拉利更能体现实用-在后加速器放两个儿童座位，可容纳7人。

Mr Musk is a convincing salesman, at least to rich Californians.
马斯克是个非常具有有说服力的销售员，至少在富有的加利福尼亚来说是这样。

The prospects for electric cars have taken a turn for the better.
电动车的前景有了转机，可以发展地更好。

China, a market that Tesla is eyeing for a third of its sales, last month announced strict new fuel-efficiency standards that may make life hard, if not impossible, for importers of big petrol-engined cars.
中国正是特斯拉觊觎的第三大销售市场，上个月中国宣布了严格的新能源节能标准，这一新规很可能使得大型燃油动力汽车进口商举步维艰。

The European Union this week confirmed new curbs on tailpipe emissions, to be imposed from 2021.
欧盟在这周确定了新的尾气排放限制标准，将从2021年开始实施。

Even so, becoming a mass-market General Electric Motors will not be easy.
即便如此，要想成为拥有大众市场的通用电动汽车不是件简单的事。

In about three years Tesla will launch the Model E, a small saloon with a range of perhaps 400 miles, costing just 35,000 or so—if its new factory can make batteries that are good and cheap enough.
如果新工厂能够生产出质优价廉的电池的话，特斯拉将在三年内开发Model E，这是一款可行驶400英里左右的小型豪华车，费用大约在35,000美元。

It will have to, because its buyers will be using it as an everyday set of wheels, not an indulgence.
特斯拉将不得不研发出高性价比的电池，因为消费者们会把这类车当成代步工具，而不仅仅是一个玩物。

And it will have rivals: BMW's i3, launched last year, is aimed at the same market. Other carmakers will follow suit.
但它也会有竞争对手：宝马的I3，该款车是去年开发且同特斯拉的有一样的目标市场，至于其他的汽车制造商，只会追随他们的脚步。

For buyers who just want the cheapest means of getting from A to B, regardless of the vehicle's looks or performance, the lowest-cost petrol cars will be hard to beat for some time to come.
有些人不会顾及汽车的外观和性能，只关心价格低廉、方便出行，这样对特斯拉来说，在未来一段时间内很难击败低价汽车。

Traditional carmakers talk of one day serving such customers with mobility as a service—fleets of self-driving taxis.
传统的汽车制造商宣扬，总有一天，他们将提供给这类消费者一种动力服务。

Tesla, which is also investing in autonomous driving technology, could be a strong contender in such a new market:
特斯拉也正在自动驾驶科技领域投资，它可能在这个新市场是一个强大的竞争者：

unlike its older rivals, it would have no legacy business, of factories churning out petrol models, to be disrupted.
特斯拉与传统竞争对手不同之处在于，他们没有值得缅怀的传奇，相应地同样也没有即将破败的燃油动力汽车工厂。