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It is a historic day for China’s answer to Tesla. BYD, the Chinese automaker backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, has overtaken Tesla to become the world’s top electric carmaker by sales. China’s carmakers have razor thin margins, but sales are accelerating fast.
對於中國版的特斯拉(Tesla)來說，這是歷史性的一天。獲沃倫•巴菲特(Warren Buffett)旗下波克夏哈薩威(Berkshire Hathaway)投資的中國汽車製造商比亞迪(BYD)已超過特斯拉，成爲全球銷量最高的電動汽車製造商。中國汽車製造商的利潤非常微薄，但銷量正在快速成長。
BYD sold 641,000 vehicles in the first six months of the year, up more than 300 per cent from the previous year. That compares to 564,000 vehicles sold by Tesla, hit by supply chain and operational disruptions due to China’s lockdowns.
今年上半年，比亞迪銷售了64.1萬輛汽車，同比成長逾300%。同一時期，在中國封控導致供應鏈和運營中斷的衝擊下，特斯拉銷售了56.4萬輛。
China, once largely seen as a domestically focused electric car market, exported more than half a million electric vehicles last year, more than double the previous year. Government policy has played a part: Beijing requires a fixed quota of electric vehicles to be made each year.
中國曾在很大程度上被視爲一個以國內爲中心的電動汽車市場，去年出口了50多萬輛電動汽車，是前一年的兩倍多。政府政策起到了一定作用：中國政府要求每年生產固定配額的電動汽車。
Much of the sales growth is based on low prices. For example, the Hongguang Mini, the best selling electric model in the world last year, was priced at Rmb28,800 ($4,300), before price hikes this year. BYD has a wider range of offerings, including a $34,000 extended-range model. Its pricing is much lower than global counterparts, with a starting price of $15,000 after subsidies for its Dolphin model.
大部分銷售成長都是基於低價。例如，去年全球最暢銷的電動車型——宏光Mini，在今年提價之前的定價爲2.88萬元人民幣(合4300美元)。比亞迪的產品範圍更廣，包括一款售價3.4萬美元的增程車型。該公司的定價遠低於全球同行，其海豚車型的補貼後起價爲1.5萬美元。
These cheap electric cars make slim profits. SAIC-GM-Wuling, the maker of the Hongguang Mini, posted very thin profit margins last year. BYD operating margins fell below 2 per cent last year. For Tesla during the same period these were 12 per cent.
這些廉價的電動汽車利潤微薄。宏光Mini的製造商上汽通用五菱去年的利潤率非常低。比亞迪去年的營業利潤率降至2%以下。特斯拉同期的營業利潤率爲12%。
Ultra low pricing strategies are not sustainable. Global prices of raw materials have soared. Electric cars subsidies are set to be phased out by the end of the year. BYD has lifted the prices of its cars and batteries this year, in line with global peers.
超低價格策略是不可持續的。全球原材料價格已經飆升。電動汽車補貼將在今年年底前逐步取消。比亞迪今年提高了其汽車和電池的價格，與全球同行保持一致。
Nonetheless, China increasingly dominates the lithium battery supply chain. That will support the sales growth of its electric carmakers. Shares of BYD have gained a third in the past year, unaffected by the broader sell-off in Chinese equities. They trade at 99 times forward earnings, an 80 per cent premium to Tesla.
儘管如此，中國在鋰電池供應鏈領域的主導地位日益增強。這將支援其電動汽車製造商的銷售成長。過去一年，比亞迪股價上漲了三分之一，沒有受到中國股市整體下跌的影響。比亞迪的預期市盈率爲99倍，較特斯拉高出80%。
The test for BYD will be whether it can attract similar demand overseas. The potential is greatest in south-east Asia and Japan where there is growing demand for small and low cost electric cars. Rapid growth in these price sensitive markets would justify the valuation gap.
比亞迪面臨的考驗將是能否在海外吸引類似的需求。東南亞和日本的潛力最大，這兩個地區對小型低成本電動汽車的需求不斷成長。這些價格敏感市場的快速成長將證明這一估值差距是合理的。