China Auto Giant BYD Sells More Electric Vehicles Than Ever

中国汽车巨头比亚迪电动汽车销量创历史新高

Sales by BYD, the country’s dominant automaker, topped 3 million last year, including 1.6 million fully battery-powered cars. It’s a sign of China’s rapid growth in EVs.

中国主要汽车制造商比亚迪去年的销量突破 300 万辆，其中纯电动汽车 160 万辆。这是中国电动汽车快速增长的标志。

Electric vehicles made by BYD at Suzhou Port in China. The company’s profits tripled in the first half of last year.

比亚迪在中国苏州港生产的电动汽车。去年上半年该公司的利润增长了两倍。

The Chinese corporate giant BYD said Monday that it sold three million battery-powered cars in 2023, its most ever, capping a turbulent year for China’s electric vehicle industry.

中国企业巨头比亚迪周一表示， 2023 年电动汽车销量达到 300 万辆，创下历史新高，为中国电动汽车行业动荡的一年画上句号。

Even as sales surged, heavy competition and a sustained price war took a financial toll on many automakers.

尽管销量激增，但激烈的竞争和持续的价格战给许多汽车制造商带来了财务损失。

But BYD last year sold 1.6 million fully electric vehicles and another 1.4 million hybrids, which are powered by both batteries and gasoline. Together that is a 62 percent increase over 2022. BYD is also making money, tripling its profit to $1.5 billion in the first half of last year.

但比亚迪去年销售了 160 万辆纯电动汽车和 140 万辆混合动力汽车，这些汽车均由电池和汽油提供动力。这比 2022 年增长了 62%。比亚迪也在赚钱，去年上半年利润增加了两倍，达到 15 亿美元。

All told, Chinese automakers are expected to have sold about 9.4 million electric vehicles and hybrids last year, an increase from 6.9 million in 2022, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The group said it expected sales in 2024 to rise again, to 11.5 million.

中国汽车工业协会的数据显示，中国汽车制造商去年预计销售约 940 万辆电动汽车和混合动力汽车，高于 2022 年的 690 万辆。该集团表示，预计 2024 年销量将再次上升，达到 1150 万辆。

Already the world’s largest automobile market, China is now also its fastest growing, racing ahead in the electric vehicle transition that is upending the global industry. China rules the supply chain for battery-powered cars — from the mining and processing of cobalt and other minerals used in batteries, to the deployment of robots in factories that make cars and trucks. China’s electric vehicle companies and their suppliers employ some 1.5 million people.

中国已经是世界上最大的汽车市场，现在也是增长最快的国家，在颠覆全球行业的电动汽车转型中走在前列。中国统治着电池驱动汽车的供应链——从电池中使用的钴和其他矿物的开采和加工，到制造汽车和卡车的工厂中机器人的部署。中国的电动汽车公司及其供应商雇用了约 150 万人。

A big reason for China’s early lead in electric vehicles was the government’s heavy financial support for the industry’s development. After financial incentives for consumers expired at the end of 2022, automakers slashed car prices to lure buyers. Many companies, including BYD, introduced another round of cuts this fall, intensifying the price war.

中国在电动汽车领域早期领先的一个重要原因是政府对该行业发展的大力财政支持。在针对消费者的经济激励措施于 2022 年底到期后，汽车制造商大幅下调汽车价格以吸引买家。包括比亚迪在内的多家企业今年秋季又推出了一轮降价，价格战愈演愈烈。

In November, BYD advertised discounts on five models of up to 18,000 renminbi ($2,550). Another Chinese electric vehicle company, Ji Yue, a partnership of Geely and Baidu, slashed the price of all versions of its first model by RMB 30,000 ($4,200) in November.

11 月，比亚迪发布了五款车型最高 18,000 元人民币（2,550 美元）折扣的广告。另一家中国电动汽车公司吉利和百度的合作伙伴吉悦在 11 月份将其首款车型所有版本的价格下调了3 万元人民币（合 4,200 美元）。

Last year’s price cutting was started by Tesla, the American automaker that has a factory in Shanghai. In January 2023 it lowered prices in China for the second time in three months, and others followed.

去年的降价是由在上海设有工厂的美国汽车制造商特斯拉发起的。2023 年 1 月，它在三个月内第二次降低了中国的价格，其他国家也纷纷效仿。

Tesla is expected this week to report a big jump in its worldwide sales after slashing prices at the end of last year, and as customers took advantage of U.S. tax breaks. Founded in 2003, Tesla is on a path to sell about 1.8 million battery powered vehicles for the year, up from 1.3 million in 2022. It makes about half of all electric vehicles sold in the United States.

预计特斯拉在去年底大幅降价后，由于客户利用了美国的税收减免政策，其全球销量将在本周大幅增长。特斯拉成立于 2003 年，预计今年将销售约 180 万辆电池驱动汽车，高于2022 年的 130 万辆。它生产的电动汽车约占美国销售总量的一半。

As Tesla and BYD rival for the spot as the world’s most prolific maker of fully electric vehicles, both companies face increasing competition from legacy automakers that are spending billions of dollars to catch up.

随着特斯拉和比亚迪争夺世界上最多产的全电动汽车制造商的地位，两家公司都面临着传统汽车制造商日益激烈的竞争，这些制造商正花费数十亿美元来追赶。

“I think an industry shakeout is an inevitable trend,” said Cui Dongshu, the secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association, which represents the country’s domestic industry. “But it’s still uncertain who will seize the future leading position in the long term.”

“我认为行业洗牌是必然趋势，”代表中国国内汽车行业的中国乘用车协会秘书长崔东树表示。“但从长远来看，谁将占据未来的领先地位仍然不确定。”

As fast as China’s electric vehicle sales are rising, companies are pouring money into factories and research, often fueled by loans from state-owned banks and assistance from municipalities. Nio, a top selling Chinese EV brand, said in November that it laid off 10 percent of its employees.

随着中国电动汽车销量的快速增长，企业正在向工厂和研究投入大量资金，这通常是由国有银行的贷款和市政当局的援助推动的。中国最畅销的电动汽车品牌蔚来汽车去年 11 月表示，该公司解雇了 10% 的员工。

During the last year, Tesla has lost market share to rivals like General Motors, Hyundai, Ford Motor and Volkswagen as they introduced more electric vehicles.

去年，随着通用汽车、现代汽车、福特汽车和大众汽车等竞争对手推出更多电动汽车，特斯拉失去了市场份额。

BYD, which faces prohibitively high tariffs in the U.S. market, sells most of its cars in China but is expanding globally, particularly in Europe.

比亚迪在美国市场面临过高的关税，其大部分汽车在中国销售，但正在全球扩张，特别是在欧洲。

It announced in December that it would build an assembly plant in Hungary, its first production facility for battery-powered cars in Europe. In Germany, the seat of European auto making, it introduced three models of electric cars at the start of 2023. BYD has opened dealerships in Germany, Norway and Sweden.

去年12月，该公司宣布将在匈牙利建立一家装配厂，这是该公司在欧洲的第一家电动汽车生产工厂。在欧洲汽车制造基地德国，比亚迪于2023年初推出了三款电动汽车。比亚迪已在德国、挪威和瑞典开设经销店。

As global competition for electric vehicles has gotten more intense, the political ramifications have been heightened. United States policymakers have made it harder for foreign companies to become partners with American companies.

随着全球电动汽车的竞争变得更加激烈，政治影响也更大。美国政策制定者加大了外国公司与美国公司成为合作伙伴的难度。

And in Europe, lawmakers are investigating China’s state subsidies, a step that could lead to tariffs imposed by the European Union.

Yet Europe’s auto industry can’t ignore China as a customer and business partner.

在欧洲，立法者正在调查中国的国家补贴，此举可能导致欧盟征收关税。

然而欧洲汽车业不能忽视中国作为客户和商业伙伴。

BMW, which has more than 30,000 employees in China, announced last spring that it would invest about $1.4 billion in battery assembly capacity at its factory in Shenyang in China’s northeast.

宝马在中国拥有超过3万名员工，该公司去年春天宣布将在中国东北沉阳的工厂投资约14亿美元，用于建设电池组装产能。

Volkswagen, which counts China as its largest sales market, is moving more of its supply chain and manufacturing to China. The German giant is hiring thousands of Chinese engineers to design electric cars at its industrial complex in Hefei, a city in central China.

大众汽车将中国视为其最大的销售市场，正在将更多的供应链和制造业务转移到中国。这家德国巨头正在其位于中国中部城市合肥的工业园区雇用数千名中国工程师来设计电动汽车。