特斯拉CEO:中國市場銷量五六年後會超過美國

"In the long term, we will probably see equal or higher sales in China than in the United States. That may take five or six years," Elon Musk, CEO of electric automobile maker Tesla Motors, told Xinhua on Friday.

10月23日，特斯拉電動汽車首席執行官埃隆·馬斯克表示，“從長遠來看，特斯拉在中國的銷量將有望達到或趕超美國，這可能需要五六年的時間”。

Sales in China in the first three quarters of 2015 reached 3,025 cars, with 791 sold in Q1, 882 in Q2 and 1,345 in Q3, respectively, Musk said at a press conference to unveil Tesla’s new Autopilot system in Beijing.

2015年前三季度特斯拉在中國共售出3025輛，第一季度銷量爲791輛，第二季度銷量882輛，第三季度1345輛。馬斯克在北京新聞發佈會揭開了特斯拉新自動駕駛系統。

Musk said the figures are good on a percentage growth basis, and he is very optimistic about Tesla’s future in China. He said he wants to emphasize that Tesla is still a small company. "We get the press of an elephant, but are the size of a mouse," he said.

馬斯克表示，這些數據的百分比均呈上升態勢，他十分看好特斯拉在中國的未來。他強調，特斯拉現在仍然是小公司，“媒體看來我們看起來像只大象，但從規模上講我們還只是只老鼠”。

The company is in talks with officials at the national and provincial levels about potential joint ventures in China, according to Musk. In a previous interview with Xinhua, Musk said Tesla plans to localize production and engineering in China in three years. "That timetable is still approximately correct. It’s my best guess," he said on Friday when asked if there had been any change of plans.

馬斯克表示，目前公司正與國家級及省級官方舉行會談，探討潛在的合作關係。在早前接受新華社的採訪時，馬斯克表示特斯拉計劃三年內在中國實現本地化生產和工程設計。週五的新聞發佈會上，當被問及計劃是否會有變時，馬斯克迴應，“樂觀估計，公司未來發展和這一計劃基本一致”。

Tesla has been increasing its retail outlets and supercharging networks in China, having already installed 84 superchargers and 1,500 destination chargers after sales in the country reportedly fell below expectations last year.

自去年報導特斯拉在中國的銷售額未達到公司預期值，特斯拉便一直在中國增加其零售網點及超級充電網絡系統，已建成84個超級充電站及1500個目的地充電站。

Musk said Tesla is now in a "pretty good place," even as traditional car makers such as BMW and Audi unveiled their own electric vehicle concepts in China. "We are trying to put localized production in China. In the years to come, you’ll see some fairly significant partnership announcements," Musk added.

馬斯克表示，雖然諸如寶馬、奧迪等傳統汽車公司紛紛發佈電動汽車的概念，但特斯拉在競爭中還是佔據良好的位置。馬斯克補充說，“我們計劃在中國實現本地化生產，在不久的將來，你們就能看到一些重要的合作關係”。

China’s automobile sales rebounded in September mainly due to growth in passenger car and new energy vehicle sales. Official data showed that electric and hybrid electric cars outperformed their peers in September, registering 210- and 220-percent year-on-year growth in output and sales, respectively.

由於小轎車和新能源汽車的銷量增加，中國的汽車銷量在9月有所回升。官方數據顯示，電動和混合動力汽車在9月份的銷量表現優於其他汽車，年產量增長率達到210%，年銷量增長率達220%。

Industry analysts said his choice of Beijing as the launch site for Tesla’s Autopilot indicates Tesla’s determination to win over China, the world’s biggest auto market.

業內人士分析，特斯拉選擇北京作爲其自動駕駛系列的首發地，表明特斯拉要贏得中國這一全球最大汽車市場的決心。

However, Musk did not shy away from admitting that Tesla had "made some mistakes" on its initial entry into China. The lesson learned is that no matter how anxious customers are to get the product, it shouldn’t be launched unless everything is ready, he said. Tesla is limiting expansion into other markets as a result of the lessons learned in China, Musk said. "We shouldn’t make that mistake in the future."

然而馬斯克並不否認，在初入中國市場時，“犯了一些錯誤”。但我們從中吸取到教訓：無論市場顧客對這一產品多麼期待，都不能在產品還沒完全準備好的時候投入市場。由於中國這一市場的經驗教訓，特斯拉現在並不急於拓展其他市場，馬斯克表示，“在將來我們不能再犯這樣的錯誤了”。

Meanwhile, he is also optimistic about China’s economy, despite the recent slowdown. "If you look at China’s fundamentals over the long term, they are extremely good," Musk said, citing the country’s highly educated workforce and high percentage of engineering graduates.

同時，他對中國的經濟前景持樂觀態度，儘管近期有所放緩。“要用長遠的眼光看待中國的經濟基本面，形勢還是一片大好”，馬斯克和有高等學歷的員工和工程專業的學生交流時說到。

Apart from Tesla, Musk is also the CEO of private rocket firm SpaceX and chairman of solar company Solarcity. He dismissed the possibility that all the companies under his helm would be restructured to follow Google’s recent reorganization under conglomerate Alphabet Inc.

包括特斯拉，馬斯克同時也是私人火箭太空探索技術公司（SpaceX）的首席執行官，以及太陽能公司的董事長。他否認了他掌舵的所有公司將進行重組的消息，因爲谷歌最近重組成立了Alphabet公司。

He said he enjoys getting involved in the "front line execution" of the companies, but said Tesla will add new brain power to its team, which will "make it easier" for him.

馬斯克表示他很享受參與到公司一線執行活動的過程，但特斯拉團隊需要輸入新的智慧，這能使他輕鬆不少。