When BYD Auto launches one of China's first mass produced fully electric sedans later this year, it will be trying to conquer the world rather than save it. But such is the explosive growth of China's car market and thirst for petrol that the two goals are likely to become ever more synonymous.
Senior government leaders have initiated a major push for hybrid and electric vehicles in a bid to bypass car makers overseas and avoid an environmental meltdown at home.
The consultancy McKinsey and Company estimates that China's car market will grow tenfold between 2005 and 2030,which will drive up demand for diesel and petrol from 110 million tonnes to 500 million tonnes. That will mean a sharp rise in carbon emissions from a country that has already overtaken the United States as the world's biggest source of greenhouse gases.
Hybrid, electric and fuel-cell vehicles could ease the burden, but they will not solve the problem because at the moment more than 70%of China's electricity is powered by coal, the dirtiest of all fossil fuels. Even if there is a large-scale take-up of the new technologies, which could cut emissions by 19%.McKinsey estimates that the combined emissions from road transport would still increase more than fourfold within the next two decades.
Faced by this nightmare, the Chinese authorities recently announced plans for 50000-yuan rebates for electric and hybrid cars, encouraged city taxi fleets to buy vehicles with the new technology, and prompted state and regional grids to set up charging stations.
BYD is likely to be a major beneficiary. The initials stand for Build Your Dreams, which prompted snickers when the company debuted in US car shows last year, as did the soaring ambitions of the founder Wang Chuanfu, who has stated that BYD will be the biggest carmaker in China by 2015 and the biggest in the world by 2025.
Despite it making a third of the world's mobile phone batteries, until recently few people outside of China had heard of BYD. But the company exploded into the international consciousness late last year by beating Toyota and General Motors to launch the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid.
There are also many questions about the environmental benefits of electric cars, given China's reliance on coal. Electric vehicles drive down carbon emissions best if they are charged at night with wind or other forms of renewable energy, but this is not currently possible in the country.
But they do use energy more efficiently than both petrol-and diesel-driven cars, and environmental groups say electric vehicles can at least reduce the huge negative impact from the spread of car culture in China.
“Electric cars would be a big step forward,”said Greenpeace executive director Gerd Leipold on a recent visit to Beijing.“Hybrid cars have a better reputation than their ecological performance merits.”
BYD may lead the pack in China, but the government is encouraging others to move into clean transport manufacturing-an area where it hopes domestic companies can overtake bigger foreign rivals.
At an exhibition of clean energy technology in Beijing in March, the science and technology minister, Wan Gang, said,“The country aimed to come out of the current economic downturn greener and more advanced than it went in. Accompanying every financial crisis is a revolution in technology that serves as an engine for economic development.This time, new energy technology will probably be the new driving force.”
Every few weeks there is fresh news that China is upgrading its transport and energy infrastructure. In March, Chery Auto unveiled a battery electric vehicle-the S18EV—that it says has a range of 150 kilometres on a single charge.Shortly before that, Xinri started building an industrial park capable of producing five million electric scooters and bicycles per year.And Tianjin-Qingyuan has recently announced that it may precede BYD with the autumn release of a fully battery-powered Saibao sedan.
More than a dozen other firms have begun manufacturing electric buses. However, the gusto with which many Chinese people have embraced the idea of clean energy was most evident however in a display of a sanlunche-the boxed three-wheel scooters that are a familiar sight in Beijing's alleyways-fitted with wing-like solar panels.
But, so far, none have gone as far as BYD. Li says it is simply a matter of business.“We are not trying to save the world, we are making money.Our strategy aims to give value to shareholders.If we can help the planet at the same time, all the better.”
當(dāng)比亞迪汽車公司去年年底成為中國第一批大批量生產(chǎn)全電動(dòng)轎車的汽車廠家時(shí),它就旨在征服世界而非拯救世界。既能滿足中國快速增長的汽車需求又能解決汽油緊缺問題,比亞迪電動(dòng)汽車的生產(chǎn)對(duì)兩個(gè)問題都給出了答案。
中國政府高層領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力推復(fù)合型汽車和電動(dòng)汽車的生產(chǎn),以期避開與國外汽車生產(chǎn)商的競爭和避免國內(nèi)環(huán)境的惡化。
據(jù)麥肯錫咨詢公司估計(jì),在2005年到2030年間,中國汽車市場會(huì)增長10倍。市場的增長將導(dǎo)致對(duì)柴油和汽油的需求也會(huì)從1.1億噸增長到5億噸。這意味著二氧化碳的排放量將會(huì)急劇增加,而中國現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)超過美國,成為世界上最大的溫室氣體排放國。
復(fù)合型汽車、電動(dòng)汽車及燃料電池汽車可以減輕環(huán)境負(fù)擔(dān),但并不能解決問題,因?yàn)橹袊壳坝谐^70%的電能來自煤,煤在化石燃料中的污染力是最強(qiáng)的。即使大規(guī)模推行新技術(shù)也只能減少排放量的19%。麥肯錫估計(jì):把來自公路運(yùn)輸工具的排放量算在一起,今后20年內(nèi)的排放量還是會(huì)增加四倍。
面對(duì)這樣嚴(yán)峻的現(xiàn)實(shí),中國官方日前宣布了這樣的計(jì)劃:購買電動(dòng)車和復(fù)合型電動(dòng)車將給予五萬元的返利,鼓勵(lì)城市出租車隊(duì)購買帶有新技術(shù)的汽車,以及督促國家和地方電網(wǎng)設(shè)立充電站。
比亞迪似乎成了這次計(jì)劃的最大受益者。當(dāng)比亞迪帶著公司名稱英文縮寫B(tài)YD(鑄造您的夢(mèng)想)去年首次亮相美國汽車展時(shí),當(dāng)公司奠基人王傳福野心勃勃地提到比亞迪將會(huì)在2015年成為中國最大的汽車生產(chǎn)商,到2025年成為世界最大汽車生產(chǎn)商時(shí),曾引發(fā)陣陣竊笑。
盡管全世界三分之一的手機(jī)電池都是比亞迪公司生產(chǎn)的,然而在中國以外的地區(qū),知道比亞迪公司的人少之又少。但在去年年底,比亞迪因擊敗豐田汽車公司和通用汽車公司而率先大規(guī)模生產(chǎn)充電式油電混合動(dòng)力車,在國際上聲名鵲起。
鑒于中國對(duì)煤的依賴,電動(dòng)車的環(huán)境效益還存在很多問題。如果在晚上通過風(fēng)力或者其他可再生能源給電動(dòng)車充電,那么就可最大程度降低二氧化碳的排放量,但是目前在中國這是不可能實(shí)現(xiàn)的。
但是電動(dòng)車比燃燒柴油和汽油的汽車更能有效地使用能源,環(huán)保組織聲稱電動(dòng)車至少可以減少汽車文化在中國傳播的巨大負(fù)面影響。
“電動(dòng)汽車的產(chǎn)生會(huì)是一個(gè)巨大的飛躍,”綠色和平組織總干事葛德·勒波爾德最近訪問北京時(shí)說,“復(fù)合型汽車的名氣比它們對(duì)生態(tài)環(huán)境帶來的好處要大?!?/p>
比亞迪可能是中國汽車行業(yè)的佼佼者,但是政府也在鼓勵(lì)其他汽車廠商從事清潔交通工具的生產(chǎn)。政府希望在這個(gè)領(lǐng)域的國內(nèi)公司能超越更大的國外競爭對(duì)手。
3月,在北京舉行的一次清潔能源技術(shù)展覽會(huì)上,科技部部長萬鋼說:“中國力圖以更加環(huán)保的姿態(tài)和更加先進(jìn)的技術(shù)從目前的經(jīng)濟(jì)低迷中走出。每一次經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)都會(huì)伴隨著一場技術(shù)革命,每一次技術(shù)革命又成為經(jīng)濟(jì)增長的引擎。這一次,新能源技術(shù)將成為新的驅(qū)動(dòng)力?!?/p>
每隔幾個(gè)星期,都有關(guān)于中國升級(jí)其交通和能源基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的最新報(bào)道。3月,奇瑞汽車推出了一款電池電動(dòng)汽車—S18EV。據(jù)說這款汽車充電一次即可行駛150公里。很快,新日公司也開始建造一個(gè)年生產(chǎn)量可達(dá)500萬輛電動(dòng)摩托車和電動(dòng)自行車的工業(yè)園區(qū)。天津清源日前也宣布會(huì)率先于比亞迪公司在今年秋天推出完全由電池供電的賽豹汽車。
還有十幾家其他公司也開始從事電動(dòng)公共汽車的生產(chǎn)。很多中國人對(duì)使用清潔能源理念的支持能從改造后的三輪車上得到最大體現(xiàn):那些出現(xiàn)在北京胡同里的三輪車已經(jīng)裝上了翅膀般的太陽能電池板。
但是,到目前為止,還沒有任何一家公司的發(fā)展可以匹敵比亞迪公司。李先生說這一切僅僅是生意上的策略。“我們不是想拯救世界,我們就是想賺錢。我們的戰(zhàn)略目標(biāo)就是給予股東回報(bào)。如果我們這樣做的同時(shí)也為這個(gè)地球做出了貢獻(xiàn),一舉兩得的事情何樂而不為呢。”
實(shí)戰(zhàn)提升
核心單詞
sedan[si'd?n]n.轎車
synonymous[si'n?nim?s]adj.同義的
emission[i'mi??n]n.放射;散發(fā)
explode[ik'spl?ud]v.激增,迅速擴(kuò)大
precede[pri'si:d]v.先于,優(yōu)于
財(cái)經(jīng)知識(shí)一點(diǎn)通
麥肯錫咨詢公司(McKinsey&Company)
是世界級(jí)領(lǐng)先的全球管理咨詢公司。自1926年成立以來,公司的使命就是幫助領(lǐng)先的企業(yè)、機(jī)構(gòu)實(shí)現(xiàn)顯著、持久的經(jīng)營業(yè)績改善,打造能夠吸引、培育和激勵(lì)杰出人才的優(yōu)秀組織機(jī)構(gòu)。
基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施(infrastructure)
是指為社會(huì)生產(chǎn)和居民生活提供公共服務(wù)的物質(zhì)工程設(shè)施,它是社會(huì)賴以生存發(fā)展的一般物質(zhì)條件?!盎A(chǔ)設(shè)施”不僅包括公路、鐵路、機(jī)場、通信、水電煤氣等公共設(shè)施,即俗稱的基礎(chǔ)建設(shè),而且包括教育、科技、醫(yī)療衛(wèi)生、體育、文化等社會(huì)事業(yè),即“社會(huì)性基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施”。
翻譯練習(xí)
That will mean a sharp rise in carbon emissions from a country that has already overtaken the United States as the world's biggest source of greenhouse gases.
There are also many questions about the environmental benefits of electric cars, given China's reliance on coal.
If we can help the planet at the same time, all the better.