Electric shock of the new—How to be the next Tesla

A traffic jam of upstarts is vying to follow in Elon Musk’s tyre tracks. Does any stand a chance?  

The final hurdle is flogging the vehicles to consumers. The new EV-makers are mostly dispensing with traditional dealer networks in favour of Tesla's model of online sales backed up with shops to show off their wares. That still leaves the challenge of creating a servicing network if anything goes wrong. Such networks, which car buyers have come to expect, can be as expensive and tricky to scale up as manufacturing is. Mr Pacheco of Gartner notes that even Tesla's is still a work in progress. In America the big three Detroit carmakers have nearly 10,000 dealerships that will service cars; Tesla has around 135.

hurdle  /ˈhɜːdl/ 1.（供人或马在赛跑中跨越的）栏架，跨栏 •His horse fell at the final hurdle. 他骑的马在最后一个跨栏倒下了。 2. 跨栏赛•the 300 m hurdles 300米跨栏赛；3. 难关；障碍；4.~ (over) sth （奔跑中）跳越（某物）•He hurdled two barriers to avoid reporters. 他跳过了两个障碍物以躲避记者。 2. 参加跨栏赛

Flog  v. /flɒɡ/ 1.鞭笞，棒打（作为惩罚）•He was publicly flogged for breaking the country's alcohol laws. 他因违犯国家的酒法而被当众处以鞭刑。2.~ sth (to sb)~ sth (off) 出售（某物给某人）•She flogged her guitar to another student. 她把吉他卖给另一个同学。3. ˌFLOG A DEAD ˈHORSE 鞭策死马；做徒劳无益的事；4ˌFLOG STH TO ˈDEATH多次重复（想法、故事等）而使人失去兴趣

Wares  n. [贸易] 商品；货物

Many new firms won't get that far. Several have already suffered setbacks. Dyson, a British firm better known for vacuum-cleaners, sank E500m($640m) into an EV effort only to conclude in 2019 that it would never make money. The same year Nio teetered on the brink of bankruptcy until the local government in its home city of Hefei bailed it out. A bloodbath awaits Chinas myriad smaller EV firms as they run out of ideas and money. Fisker is a reborn version of a firm that went bankrupt in 2013.

Setback 挫折; 倒退•The move represents a setback for the Middle East peace process. 此举意味着中东和平进程的倒退。

vacuum  /ˈvækjuəm/ 名词：1.真空 •a vacuum pump；真空泵 •vacuum-packed foods 真空包装的食品。2.真空状态；空白；空虚 •His resignation has created a vacuum which cannot easily be filled. 他的引退造成了难以填补的空白。3.（用真空吸尘器所做的）清洁，清扫 •to give a room a quick vacuum 用吸尘器把房间迅速清扫一下。4. in a ˈvacuum与世隔绝；脱离实际 •This kind of decision cannot ever be made in a vacuum. 这种决定绝不能脱离实际。名词： 用真空吸尘器清扫 •Have you vacuumed the stairs? 你用吸尘器清扫楼梯了吗？

teeter  v./ˈtiːtə(r)/摇晃；蹒跚行走；踉跄；摇摇欲坠 •She teetered after him in her high-heeled shoes. 她穿着高跟鞋一步三晃地跟在他后面走。

TEETER ON THE ˈBRINK/ˈEDGE OF STH：处在（灾难或危险）的边缘；濒临 •The country is teetering on the brink of civil war. 这个国家正处在内战的边缘。

bail out 1.(常通过提供资金) 帮助…摆脱困境 •They will discuss how to bail the economy out of its slump. 他们将讨论如何使经济走出低谷。2. 把…保释出来 •He has been jailed eight times. Each time, friends bailed him out. 他已经蹲过八次监狱。每次，朋友们都把他保释出来。4.跳伞逃生•Reid was forced to bail out of the crippled aircraft.里德被迫从严重受损的飞机中跳伞逃生。

bloodbath  n. /ˈblʌdbɑːθ/大屠杀

myriad  n./ˈmɪriəd/无数；大量 • Designs are available in a myriad of colours. 各种色彩的款式应有尽有。

Attention, vehicles reversing

As the complicated reality of carmaking sets in, the hype is wearing off among investors (see chart 2). Lordstown's value has fallen by 65% since peaking in February, after it lowered forecast production for its pick up truck and said it needed fresh funds. Canoo's shares are worth less than half what they were when it went public in December, owing to growing doubts about its business plan.

Hype /haɪp/（电视、广播等中言过其实的）促销广告，促销讨论 •marketing/media hype 夸张的促销╱媒体广告

wear off  (药性、感觉、感情等) 逐渐消失 • For many the philosophy was merely a fashion, and the novelty soon wore off对很多人而言这种哲学只是一时时髦，新鲜感很快就消失了。

 pick up truck：轻型货车

In short, notes Aakash Arora of BCG, a consultancy, the new firms need to establish brands. So far, he says, only Tesla has done so . It can take years to gain a reputation for reliable products, while capital burns like petrol put to a spark. A new entrant needs a trusted name, deep pockets and a proven ability to come up with clever tech. One company that has all those in spades is Apple. The iPhone-maker has been working on an EV for several years. The latest chatter is that it will have one in production by the middle of the decade. Some of its potential competitors will by then be well on the way to oblivion.

Entrant  n. /ˈentrənt/ 1.新职员；新生；新会员；新成员 •new women entrants to the police force 新加入警察部队的女警察。2.参赛者（或动物）；考生

IN ˈSPADES：大量；非常 •He'd got his revenge now, and in spades. 现在他报了仇，毫不留情地报了仇。

Oblivion  n. /əˈblɪviən/ 1.无意识状态；沉睡；昏迷 •He often drinks himself into oblivion. 他常常喝酒喝得不省人事。 2. 被遗忘；被忘却；湮没 •Most of his inventions have been consigned to oblivion. 他的大部分发明都湮没无闻了。 3.被摧毁；被毁灭；被夷平•Hundreds of homes were bombed into oblivion during the first weeks of the war. 在战争的最初几周内，数以百计的房屋被炸毁。 

译文

The final hurdle is flogging the vehicles to consumers. The new EV-makers are mostly dispensing with traditional dealer networks in favour of Tesla's model of online sales backed up with shops to show off their wares. That still leaves the challenge of creating a servicing network if anything goes wrong. Such networks, which car buyers have come to expect, can be as expensive and tricky to scale up as manufacturing is. Mr Pacheco of Gartner notes that even Tesla's is still a work in progress. In America the big three Detroit carmakers have nearly 10,000 dealerships that will service cars; Tesla has around 135.

最后一个障碍是向消费者推销这些汽车。新一代电动汽车制造商大多放弃了传统的经销商网络，转而采用特斯拉的在线销售模式，并开设店铺来展示自己的产品。但是如果出现任何问题，建立一个服务网络仍然是一个挑战。这类网络是购车者所期望的，但要像制造业那样扩大规模，成本可能会很高，也很棘手。Gartner的 Pacheco 指出，即便是特斯拉的销售网络也仍在发展中。在美国，底特律三大汽车制造商拥有近10,000家提供汽车服务的经销商，特斯拉大约有135家。

Many new firms won't get that far. Several have already suffered setbacks. Dyson, a British firm better known for vacuum-cleaners, sank E5oom($64om) into an EV effort only to conclude in 2o19 that it would never make money. The same year Nio teetered on the brink of bankruptcy until the local government in its home city of Hefei bailed it out. A bloodbath awaits Chinas myriad smaller EV firms as they run out of ideas and money. Fisker is a reborn version of a firm that went bankrupt in 2O13.

许多新公司不会走到那一步。一些公司已经遭受了挫折。英国戴森公司(Dyson)以真空吸尘器而闻名，该公司将5亿欧元(合6.4亿美元)投入电动汽车市场，结果却在2019年得出结论:电动汽车项目永远也赚不到钱。同年，蔚来汽车濒临破产，直到合肥当地政府出手相助。中国无数规模较小的电动汽车公司正面临一场血战，因为它们没有了创意和资金。菲斯克是一家在2O13年破产汽车公司的再生版本。

Attention, vehicles reversing

As the complicated reality of carmaking sets in, the hype is wearing off among investors (see chart 2). Lordstown's value has fallen by 65% since peaking in February, after it lowered forecast production for its pick up truck and said it needed fresh funds. Canoo's shares are worth less than half what they were when it went public in December, owing to growing doubts about its business plan.

请注意，倒车！

随着汽车制造业复杂的现实开始显现，投资者对它的热情正在逐渐消失(见表2)。在降低了轻型货车的预测产量并表示需要新的资金后，洛兹顿的价值自2月份的顶峰以来已经下跌了65%。由于人们对其商业计划越来越多的怀疑，Canoo目前的股价还不到去年12月上市时的一半。 

In short, notes Aakash Arora of BCG, a consultancy, the new firms need to establish brands. So far, he says, only Tesla has done so . It can take years to gain a reputation for reliable products, while capital burns like petrol put to a spark. A new entrant needs a trusted name, deep pockets and a proven ability to come up with clever tech. One company that has all those in spades is Apple. The iPhone-maker has been working on an EV for several years. The latest chatter is that it will have one in production by the middle of the decade. Some of its potential competitors will by then be well on the way to oblivion.

波士顿咨询公司的阿卡什•阿罗拉指出，简而言之，新公司需要树立品牌。他说，到目前为止，只有特斯拉做到了这一点，它可能需要数年时间才能获得可靠产品的声誉，而资本烧起来就像汽油点燃火花。新进入者需要一个值得信赖的名字、雄厚的资金以及被证明有能力推出聪明的技术。苹果(Apple)无疑具备了这一切。这家iphone制造商多年来一直致力于研发一款电动汽车。最新的传言是，到2015年，它将有一款电动车投产。到那时，它的一些潜在竞争对手将会被遗忘。