2020年经济学人 电动自行车冲击(2)

Big firms such as Accell and Giant of Taiwan compete with sporty brands such as America’s Cannondale and affordable¹ city rides from QWIC. Brompton, a British maker² of fancy folding bikes, has been making 10% of its ￡42.5m ($56m) in annual sales from the electric sort, and hopes eventually to raise that figure to 40%.VanMoof, which raised $13.5m from investors³ in May, bills itself as the Tesla of e-bikes. Like the electric-car maker it designs its own parts, motors and software rather than relying on off-the-shelf bits and bobs. The result is a more seamless product, boasts Taco Carlier, a Dutch engineer who co-founded VanMoof with his brother in 2009.

像Accell和Giant of Taiwan这样的大公司，与Cannondale这样的美国运动品牌以及提供经济实惠城市乘车的QWIC展开了竞争。英国高档折叠自行车制造商Brompton，其年销售额为4250万英镑（合5600万美元），其中10%来自电动自行车，并希望最终能将这一数字提高到40%。今年5月，VanMoof从投资者那里筹集了1350万美元，并自称为电动自行车界的特斯拉。与电动汽车制造商一样，VanMoof自己设计零件、电机和软件，而不是依赖现成的零件。这位曾与自己的兄弟在2009年联合创立VanMoof的荷兰设计师塔科·卡莱尔自夸，这样一体化的制造可以使生产更加连贯流畅。

Demand is growing faster than manufacturers can keep up, leading to long backlogs⁴ and premium⁵ prices, which start at around $1,000. Giant says that its gross margin⁶ on e-bikes is around 25%, above its average of 21%. VanMoof’s machines go for $2,000 a pop. Mr Carlier may, however, have to rethink his firm’s marketing⁷ strategy. Though its polemic⁸ against traffic jams evokes⁹ French nouvelle vague cinema, the ad was banned in June by French authorities, for trying to “discredit the automobile¹⁰ sector”.

对于电动自行车需求的增长速度超过了制造商的承受能力，引发了长期积压和溢价，起价在1000美元左右。Giant公司表明其电动自行车的毛利率在25%左右，高于平均水平21%。VanMoof的电动自行车每辆售价2000美元。然而，卡莱尔可能不得不重新考虑公司的营销策略。尽管这则针对交通堵塞的论战让人想起了法国的新浪潮电影，但这则广告在6月被法国当局禁止，因为它试图“诋毁汽车行业”。

1 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 backlogs   

积压未办之事( backlog的名词复数 )； 没交付的订货； 备用； 备用物

参考例句：

• "You'll need kindling and medium wood and logs and backlogs. “点火柴、引火柴、原木、垫底的，你都用得着。” 来自名作英译部分
• Our manufacturers have heavy backlogs on their hands. 我们的生产厂商手头有许多积压而没有交付的订单。

5 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

6 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

7 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

8 polemic   

n.争论，论战

参考例句：

• He launched into a fierce polemic against the government's policies.他猛烈地抨击政府的政策。
• He wrote a splendid polemic in my favour.他写了一篇出色的文章为我辩护。

9 evokes   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• Each type evokes antibodies which protect against the homologous. 每一种类型都能产生抗同种病毒的抗体。

10 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。