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

【中国的电动车制造商超越了全球竞争对手，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-中国的汽车制造商正在全力以赴地增加电动汽车的生产，推动世界由汽油驱动转向新能源驱动。但是，随着外国竞争对手试图夺回他们失去的市场份额，未来的道路看起来很危险。

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.

本周在上海举行的中国最重要的汽车展览会上，电动汽车成为焦点--这是自三年前疫情以来，第一次国内外参展者都能参加的大型汽车活动。中国品牌的汽车聚集了最多的人群。

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.

从比亚迪公司的海鸥（Seagull），一款起价低于11,500美元的四座掀背车，到理想汽车公司、蔚来公司和小鹏公司等后起之秀的高端产品一系列新车型将中国电动汽车制造商日益增强的信心展露无遗。

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.

日产汽车的古普塔表示，三年前，大家似乎都还在立志实现汽车电气化。这是中国于1月份取消几乎所有边境限制后这家日本车企的首席运营官首次来华。古普塔称，电动汽车的崛起速度远远超过很多人之前的预期，他还表示，中国已经跨越了消费者愿意接受电动汽车作为常规车辆的临界点。

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.

在中国去年销售的新车中，有四分之一是电动汽车或插电式混合动力汽车，销量较2021年增长近一倍。中国去年的燃油汽车销量下降13%。本土品牌在蓬勃发展的电动车领域成功赢得消费者喜爱，中外合资车企也在努力保住市场份额。

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

但随着该领域竞争的加剧，各品牌必须在差异化竞争上加大力度。

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.

消费者青睐的关键内部功能包括显示屏、软件和应用程序。在理想汽车生产的六座插电式混合动力车型L9里，一个宽大的显示屏既可以为司机监控车况，也能播放视频和电影来为乘客提供娱乐。
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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.

多家汽车生产商称，数字功能和信息娱乐功能对中国客户特别重要，在这个领域，中国本土车企已明显领先外国品牌。

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.

时尚且具有未来气息的外观正日益成为中国高端电动汽车的标志，这些电动车针对的是与特斯拉(Tesla Inc., TSLA)相同的目标客户群。小鹏汽车称，该公司轿跑SUV G6的设计灵感直接来自科幻小说。该车型的引擎盖边缘有一条贯穿式灯带，而且车体线条流畅。

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.

总体而言，上海车展展示的中国电动汽车的先进性能表明，自约十年前以来，本土品牌已经取得了长足进步。大约十年前的中国车展还充斥着造型古怪笨拙的国产汽车，在燃油效率方面也落后于外国品牌。

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.

当时的中国消费者渴望拥有外国品牌车，这些品牌在推出海外开发的全球车型时占据了主导地位。

Now, the tide has turned.

目前的形势，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.

丰田汽车公司(Toyota Motor Corp., 7203.TO)执行副总裁中岛裕树(Hiroki Nakajima)表示，丰田的做法应该是：虚心学习；要交付中国客户心仪的汽车，最近的路径是更仔细地倾听他们的声音，并在中国搞开发。丰田汽车在此次车展上展示了两款概念电动车，计划明年开始销售。

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.

包括大众汽车(Volkswagen AG)和福特汽车公司(Ford Motor Co., F)，以及日产汽车和本田汽车(Honda Motor Co., HMC)在内的国际汽车制造商都强调了自身数十年的造车经验，以及在安全和可靠性方面的过往纪录。

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.

大众汽车从德国派了数十名高管和经理参加上海车展，在车展上展示了ID.7电动轿车，该车将于今年秋天在中国上市。该汽车的一些版本一次充电最多可行驶435英里。由于ID系列电动汽车的销售表现不佳，近年来大众汽车在中国的市场份额下降。
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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%.

大众汽车表示，将投资约10亿欧元（约合11亿美元）在中国建立一个电动汽车开发和采购中心，希望把推出新车的周期缩减约30%。
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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.

本田汽车称，将把在中国的电动化计划加快五年，现在的目标是最晚到2035年在中国只销售电动汽车。

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.

外国品牌在中国加强电动车阵容带来日益激烈的竞争，但这并非中国本土制造商面临的唯一挑战。中国制造商还必须在持续的价格战中生存下来，对一些公司来说，还要实现盈利并扩大生产规模。
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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.

在上海设有工厂的特斯拉没有参加此次车展。政府逐步取消对电动车的全国性补贴后，该公司是第一批在中国降价的汽车制造商之一。

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.

特斯拉承受降价的能力很可能会强于大多数同行。这家世界领先的电动车制造商周三公布今年前三个月营业利润率为11.4%，这在业内数一数二；营业利润率是一个衡量盈利能力的指标。

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.

与此同时，跻身特斯拉最具竞争力中国挑战者之列的理想汽车、蔚来集团、小鹏汽车尚未实现持续盈利。这三家车企的股票都在美国上市。蔚来集团和小鹏汽车去年录得净亏损，理想汽车录得经营亏损。

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.

据小鹏汽车一位发言人称，该公司首席执行官何小鹏本周表示，淘汰赛刚刚开始，300万辆的年销量规模将只是汽车公司的入场券。该公司2022年售出约12.08万辆汽车。

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.

鉴于中国在外国车企新近掀起的电动化浪潮中居于中心位置，且本土品牌之间竞争激烈，该国电动车市场很可能会继续快速演变。"咨询公司埃森哲(Accenture)专注于汽车行业的董事总经理Juergen Reers说，电动汽车领域的发展仍充满活力，该领域的市场份额分布将波动不定。

TSMC Seeks Up to $15 Billion From U.S. for Chip Plants but obxts to Conditions

【台积电向美国寻求高达150亿美元的芯片建厂补贴，但拒绝附加条件】


The world’s biggest contract chip maker is pushing back on some of the conditions Washington has attached to chip-factory subsidies as it looks for up to $15 billion in government money.

世界上最大的芯片制造商在寻求高达150亿美元的政府资金时，正在回击华盛顿对芯片工厂补贴的一些附加条件。

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., TSM -0.69%decrease; red down pointing triangle which plans to invest $40 billion in two chip factories in Arizona, is concerned about rules that could require it to share profits from the factories and provide detailed information about operations, said people familiar with the situation.

了解内情的相关人士表示，计划在亚利桑那州的两个芯片工厂投资400亿美元的台积电制造有限公司(TSM -0.69%decrease; red down pointing triangle)对可能要求其分享工厂利润并提供详细运营信息的规则感到担忧。
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TSMC Chairman Mark Liu has said the U.S. terms could dissuade chip makers from working with Washington to build American chip-manufacturing capacity. South Korean chip makers have also raised obxtions.

台积电董事长Mark Liu表示，美国的条款可能会打击芯片制造商与华盛顿合作增加美国的芯片制造能力的意愿。韩国的芯片制造商也提出了反对意见。

“Some of the conditions are unacceptable and we aim to mitigate any negative impact from these and will continue discussions with the U.S. government,” Mr. Liu told attendees at an industry meeting on March 30 in Taiwan.

"一些条件是不可接受的，我们的目标是减轻这些条件带来的负面影响，并将继续与美国政府进行讨论，"刘先生在3月30日在台湾举行的一次行业会议上告诉与会者。

The Biden administration says its rules are designed to protect American taxpayers and ensure companies spend money as they are supposed to. A Commerce Department official said the department would protect confidential business information and expect profit-sharing only if a recipient’s cash flow significantly exceeds projections.

拜登政府表示，其规定旨在保护美国纳税人，并确保公司把钱花到该花的地方。美国商务部一位官员称，该部门将保护机密商业信息，并且只有在领取补贴企业的现金流大大超过预期的情况下政府才期望进行利润分成。

Chip makers and the Biden administration are in uncharted territory as the U.S. begins an experiment in industrial policy. Last year’s Chips Act provides some $53 billion in funding, most of it for building chip factories.

随着美国开始进行产业政策试验，芯片制造商和拜登政府正处于未知领域。去年的《芯片法案》(Chips Act)提供了约530亿美元的资金，其中大部分用于建设芯片工厂。

The administration hopes to make the U.S. a chip-manufacturing hub again after the business largely migrated to Asia in recent decades. TSMC has begun building one factory in Arizona and has another in the works. The project, if successful, would be one of the biggest showpieces of the government effort.

近几十年来芯片业务基本迁移到亚洲后，美国政府希望使美国重新成为芯片制造中心。台积电已开始在亚利桑那州建造一座工厂，还有另一座工厂也在推进。该项目如果成功，将成为拜登政府这方面努力的最大亮点之一。
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TSMC expects to get tax credits of some $7 billion to $8 billion under provisions of the Chips Act, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. In addition, it is looking to receive grants, an area where the Commerce Department has wide discretion to judge who is deserving and under what terms.

据熟悉该公司计划的人士称，台积电料将基于《芯片法案》的条款获得约70亿至80亿美元的税收抵免。此外，该公司还希望获得补贴；在这方面，美国商务部有宽泛的自由裁量权来判定谁应该得到补贴，以及根据什么条件。

The people said TSMC was thinking of asking for some $6 billion to $7 billion in grants for the two Arizona plants, bringing total U.S. government support as high as $15 billion.

这些人士表示，台积电正在考虑为亚利桑那州的两座工厂申请大约60亿至70亿美元的补贴，由此使其获得的美国政府支持总额最高将达150亿美元。

One area likely to be subject to tough negotiations is a government provision that says chip makers receiving more than $150 million in direct funding have to share a portion of their investment returns if those returns exceed projections. The Commerce Department has said the profit-sharing requirement could be waived in exceptional circumstances and the terms would be set on a case-by-case basis.

一个可能要经历艰苦谈判的领域涉及美国政府的一项规定，即接受超过1.5亿美元直接补贴的芯片制造商若投资回报超出预期，必须分享一定比例的投资回报。美国商务部表示，在特殊情况下可以免除利润分享要求，相应条款将视个案而定。

“We are not writing blank checks to any company that asks,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in February.

美国商务部长雷蒙多(Gina Raimondo) 2月份说：“我们不会给任何提出要求的公司开出空白支票。”

TSMC is concerned that the economics of the Arizona project may not work if its potential profit is capped by the government, and it also sees problems calculating the profit of one or two factories in a global manufacturing operation, according to people familiar with the company’s stance in talks with the U.S.

据了解台积电与美国政府谈判立场的人士称，台积电担心，如果其潜在利润因美国政府的规定受限，可能影响其亚利桑那州芯片项目的经济效益，而且台积电也认为其芯片制造是一项全球业务，很难单纯计算一两个特定工厂的利润。

The government’s demands for extensive access to TSMC’s books and operations are another sticking point, especially in an industry where companies tend to keep secret basic facts like who their customers are.

此外，美国政府要求广泛获取台积电的账目和运营情况，这是另一个谈判症结所在，特别是考虑到在芯片这个行业，芯片公司倾向于对客户是谁等基本事实信息保密。
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As a contract chip maker for clients like Apple Inc., TSMC is privy to business plans and product blueprints for many of the world’s top consumer technology companies. The company tightly guards its chip-making recipes, including the types of machines and materials it uses, to prevent competitors from mimicking it.

作为像苹果公司(Apple Inc., AAPL)等客户的芯片代工企业，台积电掌握了许多世界顶级消费技术公司的商业计划和产品蓝图。该公司严格保护其芯片制造秘诀，包括所使用的机器和材料类型，以防止竞争对手模仿。

TSMC doesn’t want that kind of information going to an outside party, said people familiar with its position. The Commerce Department said it needs to make sure companies are using their taxpayer grants as promised and says it will take the money back if they fail to comply with award terms.

了解台积电谈判立场的人士说，台积电不希望将这类信息透露给外部。美国商务部则表示，需要确保补贴企业按照承诺使用来自纳税人的资金，并表示如果企业不遵守补贴条款，那么商务部将收回拨出的资金。

TSMC wants Uncle Sam’s money because of the expense of building in the U.S. In January, TSMC’s chief financial officer, Wendell Huang, said certain construction costs in the U.S. were several times the level in Taiwan. TSMC founder Morris Chang has said it might cost at least 50% more to make chips in Arizona compared with Taiwan.

台积电希望得到美国政府的补贴是因为在美国建厂的费用很高。台积电首席财务官黄仁昭(Wendell Huang)今年1月表示，在美国的某些建设成本是台湾的数倍。台积电创始人张忠谋(Morris Chang)曾表示，与台湾相比，在亚利桑那州制造芯片的成本可能至少高出50%。

Korean chip makers Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. are also weighing whether to seek U.S. government help for their American factory plans.

韩国芯片制造商三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co., 005930.SE)和海力士半导体(SK Hynix Inc., 000660.SE)也在权衡是否为在美建厂计划寻求美国政府的帮助。

Like TSMC, the two Korean companies are uneasy about sharing information with Washington and they are particularly worried about rules that would limit their investment in high-end chip-making in China if they take U.S. subsidies. Both have extensive operations in China.

与台积电一样，三星电子和海力士半导体对与华盛顿方面分享信息感到不安，这两家韩国公司尤其担心，如果接受美国政府的补贴，相关规定会限制它们在中国投资先进制程芯片制造。这两家公司在中国都有广泛业务。

The China conditions are somewhat less of an issue for TSMC, which also operates in China but has focused on less-advanced chips for clients such as car makers. TSMC is slated to finish its latest expansion in China by the middle of this year and can probably do without further major moves there for now as long as the Arizona plans work out, according to analysts.

对于台积电来说，中国业务可能受到的影响从某种程度上说问题不大，该公司也在中国开展业务，但侧重于为汽车制造商等客户提供成熟制程芯片。分析师表示，台积电计划到今年年中完成最新的在华扩张计划，并且只要亚利桑那州建厂计划顺利实施，目前很可能无需在中国有更多大动作。