The pandemic is giving e-bikes a boost

新冠疫情正在推動(dòng)電動(dòng)自行車(chē)的發(fā)展

　　Two wheels good. Two wheels plus a motorbetter

　　兩個(gè)輪子好，但兩個(gè)輪子加一個(gè)馬達(dá)更好

　　Vanmoof, a dutch bicycle-maker, is knownfor sleek designs and clever advertising. In a television spot for its newestmodel, images of the evils of car culture—accidents, gridlock and pollution—areprojected onto the skin of a luxury car, which melts, turning into one of thecompany’s elegant e-bikes.

　　荷蘭自行車(chē)制造商 Vanmoof 以其時(shí)尚的設(shè)計(jì)和富有創(chuàng)意的廣告而聞名。在其最新車(chē)型的電視廣告中，交通事故、堵塞和污染等種種與汽車(chē)文化相關(guān)的罪惡景象被投射至一輛豪華汽車(chē)的外殼上，隨后車(chē)身融化，并化身為該公司一款優(yōu)雅的電動(dòng)自行車(chē)。

　　Electrically assisted bicycles are notabout to replace cars. But they are booming, especially in Europe, where salesrose by 23% in 2019, to 3m units. E-bikes are unlocking even saturated bicyclemarkets like the Netherlands, where the average person already owns 1.3pushbikes. Last year Deloitte, a consultancy, estimated the number of e-bikes worldwideat 200m, and expected it to hit 300m by 2023.

　　電動(dòng)自行車(chē)并不會(huì)取代汽車(chē)。但它們正在蓬勃發(fā)展，尤其是在歐洲，電動(dòng)自行車(chē)的銷(xiāo)量在2019年增長(zhǎng)了23%，達(dá)300萬(wàn)輛。即使在荷蘭這樣自行車(chē)已達(dá)飽和的市場(chǎng)(荷蘭人均擁有自行車(chē)1.3輛)，電動(dòng)自行車(chē)也在推動(dòng)著市場(chǎng)的發(fā)展。去年，咨詢公司德勤估計(jì)全球電動(dòng)自行車(chē)數(shù)量已達(dá)2億輛，預(yù)計(jì)到2023年將達(dá)到3億輛。

　　That may prove to be an underestimate nowthat coronavirus-wary commuters are shunning public transport and cities areexpanding cycle lanes. Sales, which braked in March and April owing tosupply-chain wobbles and shuttered stores, shifted into high gear whenlockdowns lifted. In June revenue at Accell, Europe’s biggest bicyclemanufacturer, was 53% higher than a year ago, largely thanks to e-bikes.

　　對(duì)新冠病毒持謹(jǐn)慎態(tài)度的通勤者正在避免使用公共交通，許多城市正在擴(kuò)建自行車(chē)道，有鑒于此，上述數(shù)據(jù)或許被低估了。由于供應(yīng)鏈不穩(wěn)定且門(mén)店被迫關(guān)閉，3月和4月的銷(xiāo)量一度陷入停滯，直到封鎖措施解除后，銷(xiāo)量開(kāi)始迅速回升。歐洲最大的自行車(chē)制造商 Accell 今年6月的營(yíng)收同比增長(zhǎng)了53%，這在很大程度上要?dú)w功于電動(dòng)自行車(chē)。

　　Big firms such as Accell and Giant ofTaiwan compete with sporty brands such as America’s Cannondale and affordablecity rides from QWIC. Brompton, a British maker of fancy folding bikes, hasbeen making 10% of its £42.5m ($56m) in annual sales from the electric sort,and hopes eventually to raise that figure to 40%.

　　像 Accell 和臺(tái)灣捷安特這樣的大公司正在與美國(guó) Cannondale 這樣的運(yùn)動(dòng)品牌以及 QWIC 這樣的平價(jià)城市自行車(chē)品牌相互競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。英國(guó)高檔折疊自行車(chē)制造商 Brompton 的年銷(xiāo)售額為4250萬(wàn)英鎊(約合5600萬(wàn)美元)，其中10%來(lái)自電動(dòng)自行車(chē)，這一比例未來(lái)有望提高至40%。

　　VanMoof, which raised $13.5m from investorsin May, bills itself as the Tesla of e-bikes. Like the electric-car maker itdesigns its own parts, motors and software rather than relying on off-the-shelfbits and bobs. The result is a more seamless product, boasts Taco Carlier, aDutch engineer who co-founded VanMoof with his brother in 2009.

　　今年5月，VanMoof 從投資者那里籌集了資金1350萬(wàn)美元，并將自己標(biāo)榜為電動(dòng)自行車(chē)領(lǐng)域的特斯拉。如同電動(dòng)汽車(chē)制造商一樣，該公司自行設(shè)計(jì)零部件、馬達(dá)和軟件，而非使用現(xiàn)成通用零件。2009年，荷蘭工程師塔可·卡利爾與兄弟共同創(chuàng)立了 VanMoof，他夸口稱(chēng)，我們最終將打造一輛更加完美的電動(dòng)自行車(chē)。

　　Demand is growing faster than manufacturerscan keep up, leading to long backlogs and premium prices, which start at around$1,000. Giant says that its gross margin on e-bikes is around 25%, above itsaverage of 21%. VanMoof’s machines go for $2,000 a pop.

　　需求的增速超過(guò)了制造商的承受能力，由此導(dǎo)致訂單的長(zhǎng)期積壓和產(chǎn)品的溢價(jià)，致使電動(dòng)自行車(chē)起價(jià)普遍在1000美元左右。捷安特公司表示，其電動(dòng)自行車(chē)的毛利率約為25%，高于公司全部業(yè)務(wù)21%的平均水平。VanMoof 每輛電動(dòng)自行車(chē)的售價(jià)高達(dá)2000美元。

　　Mr Carlier may, however, have to rethinkhis firm’s marketing strategy. Though its polemic against traffic jams evokesFrench nouvelle vague cinema, the ad was banned in June by French authorities,for trying to “discredit the automobile sector”.

　　然而，卡利爾可能不得不重新考慮公司的營(yíng)銷(xiāo)策略。盡管其抨擊交通堵塞的廣告讓人想起了法國(guó)新浪潮電影，但法國(guó)當(dāng)局還是在6月禁止了該廣告，理由是其試圖“敗壞汽車(chē)行業(yè)的聲譽(yù)”。

　　注：雙語(yǔ)全文源自經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人

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