The pandemic is giving e-bikes a boost

新冠疫情正在推动电动自行车的发展

　　Two wheels good. Two wheels plus a motorbetter

　　两个轮子好，但两个轮子加一个马达更好

　　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.

　　荷兰自行车制造商 Vanmoof 以其时尚的设计和富有创意的广告而闻名。在其最新车型的电视广告中，交通事故、堵塞和污染等种种与汽车文化相关的罪恶景象被投射至一辆豪华汽车的外壳上，随后车身融化，并化身为该公司一款优雅的电动自行车。

　　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.

　　电动自行车并不会取代汽车。但它们正在蓬勃发展，尤其是在欧洲，电动自行车的销量在2019年增长了23%，达300万辆。即使在荷兰这样自行车已达饱和的市场(荷兰人均拥有自行车1.3辆)，电动自行车也在推动着市场的发展。去年，咨询公司德勤估计全球电动自行车数量已达2亿辆，预计到2023年将达到3亿辆。

　　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.

　　对新冠病毒持谨慎态度的通勤者正在避免使用公共交通，许多城市正在扩建自行车道，有鉴于此，上述数据或许被低估了。由于供应链不稳定且门店被迫关闭，3月和4月的销量一度陷入停滞，直到封锁措施解除后，销量开始迅速回升。欧洲最大的自行车制造商 Accell 今年6月的营收同比增长了53%，这在很大程度上要归功于电动自行车。

　　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 和台湾捷安特这样的大公司正在与美国 Cannondale 这样的运动品牌以及 QWIC 这样的平价城市自行车品牌相互竞争。英国高档折叠自行车制造商 Brompton 的年销售额为4250万英镑(约合5600万美元)，其中10%来自电动自行车，这一比例未来有望提高至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 从投资者那里筹集了资金1350万美元，并将自己标榜为电动自行车领域的特斯拉。如同电动汽车制造商一样，该公司自行设计零部件、马达和软件，而非使用现成通用零件。2009年，荷兰工程师塔可·卡利尔与兄弟共同创立了 VanMoof，他夸口称，我们最终将打造一辆更加完美的电动自行车。

　　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.

　　需求的增速超过了制造商的承受能力，由此导致订单的长期积压和产品的溢价，致使电动自行车起价普遍在1000美元左右。捷安特公司表示，其电动自行车的毛利率约为25%，高于公司全部业务21%的平均水平。VanMoof 每辆电动自行车的售价高达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，卡利尔可能不得不重新考虑公司的营销策略。尽管其抨击交通堵塞的广告让人想起了法国新浪潮电影，但法国当局还是在6月禁止了该广告，理由是其试图“败坏汽车行业的声誉”。

　　注：双语全文源自经济学人

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