特斯拉在华销量迎来转机

    去年，电动汽车制造商特斯拉公司开始在中国销售第一批Model S汽车。由于中国对奢侈品的需求日益增加，政府也希望增加环保汽车的比例，该公司似乎抢占了很好的位置。

    特斯拉确定了宏伟的销售目标，迅速展开了招聘狂潮——最终将600名员工招入麾下，并开始积极建造名为“超级充电站”的免费快速充电站。

    但该公司随后就开始步履维艰。2014年，特斯拉没有完成销售目标，在中国只销售了约3500辆，低于中国竞争对手比亚迪公司和北汽集团的电动和插电式混合动力汽车的销量。

    特斯拉公司首席执行官埃隆•马斯克认为，在华销量疲软的主因是中国消费者存在一种误解，认为给电动汽车充电十分困难。其他人则认为中国大多数人都没有用于充电的私人车库，这种基础设施的匮乏才是真正的问题。

    然而，几乎没有人提到汽车所有权的问题，这个被忽视的因素很有可能对Model S的销量产生了重大影响。直到如今，该问题才开始得到缓慢的解决。

    北京、广州、杭州、上海、深圳和天津等中国城市为了减少污染，已经对个人汽车实施限购令。私家车主只能通过每月一次的摇号来获取车号牌照。

    然而，所谓的新能源汽车享受了特殊的优惠政策，一些地方政府规定，它们不需要通过摇号就能获取牌照。

    去年进入中国市场时，特斯拉并没有被各个城市的相关部门认定为新能源汽车，因此无法免除摇号程序。如此一来，Model S的潜在买家就只能静静等待摇号通过，这一障碍可能影响了汽车的销量。

    除了摇号之外，中国官员还会决定哪些车型能够获得新能源汽车的补贴。波士顿研究咨询机构Lux Research的研究助理莉莉娅•谢表示，直到最近，地方政府还只给本土制造商提供补贴。谢补充道，特斯拉并未从中国政府得到新能源汽车补贴。

    本月早些时候，天津将特斯拉加入了补贴名单。该公司之前还进入了广州、杭州、上海和深圳的名单，但还没有进入北京的补贴名单。

    谢表示：“北京是一个大市场。没有哪个市场的重要性可以与北京相提并论。”（财富中文网）

    译者：严匡正

    审校：任文科

    When electric automaker Tesla Motors began delivering the first Model S sedans to Chinese customers last year, the company seemed well-positioned to meet a growing demand for luxury goods and fulfill a desire by the central government to put more eco-friendly cars on the road.

    Tesla TSLA -0.26% , aiming to meetlofty sales goals, quickly went on a hiring spree (eventually amassing a staff of 600 people) and began an aggressive rollout of free fast-charging stations known as superchargers.

    But, then the company stumbled. It failed to hit its sales goals and sold fewer cars—approximately 3,500 in 2014—than electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles produced by Chinese rivals BYD and BAIC.

    CEO Elon Musk has placed much of the blame on a misconception among Chinese consumers that charging electric cars was difficult. Others argued that infrastructure, in a country where most people don’t have private garages to charge cars, was the real problem.

    However, a little-discussed barrier regarding car ownership—which likely had a big effect on Model S sales—was pushed to the side, and is only now slowly being addressed.

    In Chinese cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tianjin, regulations have been put in place to limit the number of cars an individual can own in an effort to reduce pollution. Prospective owners in the country can only acquire a license plate through a monthly lottery system.

    However, so-called new energy vehicles have special privileges, which include local governments exempting them from the lottery system.

    When Tesla entered the Chinese market last year, the company didn’t certify itself with each individual city in order to be included on their selected vehicle list and therefore weren’t excluded from the lottery. Without this exemption, potential Model S buyers must wait and go through the lottery system, an obstacle that could dampen sales.

    In addition to lottery lists, officials also determine which models qualify for new energy vehicle subsidies. Until recently, local governments were known to hand out subsidies only to manufacturers based in its own region, says Lilia Xie, a research associate with Boston-based Lux Research, later adding that Tesla doesn’t receive new energy vehicle subsidies from the Chinese government.

    Earlier this month, Tianjin added Tesla to its selected vehicle list. The company previously made the list in Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen. That leaves Beijing as the final holdout.

    “Beijing is the big one, Xie says. “There’s no other market that matters as much.”