苹果难造汽车，中国科技巨头却迎头赶上；小罗伯特·肯尼迪退出2024美国大选
As he screeches around corners at wildly unsafe speeds, one of the designers of the JIDU Robocar 07 calmly talks your correspondent through how the electric vehicle (EV) works. An alluring feature is its entertainment system—on which he is competing in a race-car game (thankfully, the actual car is stationary). Many of the EV's features are controlled by voice command and there are almost no buttons or knobs. It has autonomous-driving functions, a sporty design and, its maker claims, can travel 900 km on a single charge that takes 12 minutes. When it goes on sale in early September it is expected to cost just 220,000 yuan ($30,850). "It's the future of driving," the designer says, right as he smashes his virtual race car into a railing.
在疯狂且不安全的转弯速度下，集度汽车07的设计师之一冷静地向记者介绍了这款电动汽车的工作原理。其中一个吸引人的特点是它的娱乐系统——他正在该系统上玩赛车游戏（幸运的是，实际汽车是静止的）。电动汽车的许多功能都是通过语音控制的，几乎没有按钮或旋钮。它具有自动驾驶功能、运动型设计，制造商声称，它一次充电仅需12分钟，就可以行驶900公里。这款汽车预计将于9月初上市，售价仅为22万元人民币（约合30,850美元）。就在他的虚拟赛车撞上护栏的那一刻，这位设计师说：“这就是驾驶的未来。”
Another noteworthy feature of this EV is that it has been bankrolled by Baidu, a tech firm that runs China's leading search engine. Baidu is one of a growing number of Chinese tech giants that have ventured into the car business in recent years. Huawei, a telecoms-equipment company, has also entered the industry. Xiaomi, best known for its smartphones and home appliances, is another example.
这款电动汽车的另一个值得注意的特点是，它得到了中国领先搜索引擎运营商百度这家科技公司的资金支持。百度是近年来越来越多涉足汽车业务的中国科技巨头之一。电信设备公司华为也已进入该行业。小米是另一家涉足汽车业务的科技公司，该公司以智能手机和家用电器而闻名。
In March it launched its own EV, the SU 7.On August 21st it announced that it sold over 27,000 of the cars in the quarter from April to June; it aims to have sold 120,000 by the end of the year. Xiaomi's EV business now has 87 sales centres across 30 Chinese cities.
今年3月，小米推出了自己的电动汽车SU7。8月21日，小米宣布，从4月到6月的季度内，其汽车销量超过2.7万辆；该公司计划在今年年底前售出12万辆。目前，小米的电动汽车业务已在中国30个城市的87个销售中心开展。
For Western tech companies, cars have been a source of disappointment.
对于西方科技公司来说，汽车业务一直令人失望。
Amazon invested heavily in Rivian, a maker of electric trucks that has shed about 90% of its market value since its initial public offering in 2021. Waymo, an autonomous-vehicle project controlled by Alphabet, has faced regulatory scrutiny over its safety record. Apple spent nearly a decade and some $10 billion on a project codenamed "Titan", but gave up earlier this year with little to show for the effort. Dyson, a British company known for its whizzy vacuum cleaners and hairdryers, also tried and failed to develop an EV.
亚马逊对电动卡车制造商Rivian进行了大量投资， 但自2021年首次公开募股以来，其市值已缩水约90%。Alphabet旗下的自动驾驶汽车项目Waymo 因其安全记录而面临监管审查。苹果花了近十年时间，耗资约100亿美元用于一个名为“泰坦”的项目，但今年早些时候该项目宣告失败，几乎没有取得什么成果。以制造强力吸尘器和吹风机而闻名的英国公司戴森，也试图开发电动汽车，但最终也未能成功。
China is different, partly because the average car buyer in the country is much younger than in the West. Many in China judge cars based on their software and entertainment systems—Chinese EVs are often described as "smartphones on wheels". That has made the market easier for tech firms to crack. Tellingly, several of China's successful EV brands were founded by tech veterans. Li Auto, one of China's largest makers of EVs and hybrids, was founded in 2015 by Li Xiang, an internet entrepreneur. He Xiaopeng, who in 2014 co-founded Xpeng, another big Chinese EV business, started off in software development.
中国的情况则有所不同，部分原因在于中国平均购车者的年龄远低于西方。中国许多人在选车时会根据汽车的软件和娱乐系统来判断——中国电动汽车常被描述为“车轮上的智能手机”。这使得科技公司更容易进入这个市场。值得一提的是，中国一些成功的电动汽车品牌正是由科技行业资深人士创立的。中国最大的电动汽车和混合动力汽车制造商之一理想汽车是由互联网企业家李想于2015年创立的。而另一家大型中国电动汽车企业小鹏汽车的联合创始人何小鹏最初也是从事软件开发的。
Chinese tech firms have approached the industry in varying ways. Baidu established JIDU as a joint venture with Geely, a Chinese carmaker; the tech firm holds a 48% stake in the business. That has saved it the trouble of learning how to make cars, allowing it to focus instead on providing technology such as voice-recognition and autonomous-driving software. For Apollo Go, Baidu's robotaxi business, the vehicles are similarly supplied by Chinese car brands such as Hongqi and Arcfox.
中国科技公司以不同的方式涉足汽车行业。百度与中国汽车制造商吉利共同成立了集度汽车，百度持有该公司48%的股份。这省去了百度学习如何制造汽车的麻烦， 使其能够专注于提供语音识别和自动驾驶软件等技术。对于百度的自动驾驶出租车业务Apollo Go来说，车辆同样由红旗和极狐等中国汽车品牌提供。
Huawei has steered in a different direction. In return for a cut of sales, it assists carmakers such as Seres, maker of the AITO brand of EVs, with software, hardware, design and marketing. In the first half of the year it helped develop and sell 200,000 cars. At Huawei's flagship store on Beijing's main shopping street the windows are lined with cars, as if to taunt the Apple store lying directly opposite. Investors are piling in. A regulatory disclosure on August 20th by Avatr, a state-backed EV brand, showed it had purchased a stake in one of Huawei's auto-solutions businesses, valuing it at $16 billion.
华为则采取了不同的方向。作为回报，华为从销售收入中抽取部分资金，为包括AITO品牌电动汽车制造商赛力斯在内的汽车制造商提供软件、硬件、设计和营销方面的支持。今年上半年，华为助力开发和销售了20万辆汽车。在北京主要商业街的华为旗舰店内，橱窗里摆满了汽车，仿佛在挑衅对面的苹果专卖店。投资者也纷纷涌入。8月20日，国有电动汽车品牌阿维塔在一份监管公告中披露， 该公司已购买华为汽车解决方案业务部门的股份，估值为160亿美元。
Xiaomi has travelled the furthest towards becoming a full-fledged carmaker. The company, which announced its plan to produce a car only three years ago, initially enlisted BAIC, a Chinese carmaker, as its contract manufacturer. Last month it was given permission by the Chinese government to produce vehicles itself. That may prove transformative for the company, which got its start in 2011 selling sleek but cheap smartphones online and has since grown into one of the country's leading makers of gadgets. Success in carmaking would also be the ultimate vindication for a business that has long been accused of copying Apple's products.
小米在向成为一家真正的汽车制造商的道路上走得最远。该公司仅在三年前宣布了其生产汽车的计划， 最初聘请了中国汽车制造商北汽集团 作为其合同制造商。上个月，中国政府批准小米自行生产汽车。这可能会对公司产生变革性的影响， 该公司于2011年开始在网上销售时尚但廉价的智能手机，并自此成长为中国领先的电子产品制造商之一。在汽车行业取得成功也将是对该公司长期以来被指责抄袭苹果产品的最终证明。
Still, the road to profitability may be bumpy. Although self-driving cars are gaining popularity in China, regulatory hurdles could limit opportunities from the technology. More important, every newcomer to China's EV industry intensifies its already vicious price war. Xiaomi will probably have to sell around 300,000-400,000 vehicles a year to turn a profit. Huawei has said that its auto unit breaks even when cars sell for 300,000 yuan; some AITOs currently sell at 250,000. China's tech firms have become formidable competitors in its car industry. Making money, though, is another matter.
然而，盈利之路可能并不平坦。虽然自动驾驶汽车在中国越来越受欢迎，但监管障碍可能会限制这项技术带来的机会。更重要的是，中国电动汽车行业的每一个新进入者都加剧了本已激烈的价格战。小米每年可能需要销售约30万至40万辆汽车才能实现盈利。华为表示，其汽车业务在汽车销售价格达到30万元人民币时才能实现盈亏平衡；而目前一些AITO汽车的售价为25万元人民币。中国的科技公司已成为汽车行业强大的竞争对手。然而，赚钱则是另一回事。
The independent US presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr has filed paperwork to withdraw from presidential ballots in the state of Arizona, the Arizona secretary of state, Adrian Fontes, said.
美国独立总统候选人小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪已提交文件，申请退出亚利桑那州的总统选举投票， 亚利桑那州州务卿阿德里安·丰特斯发表上述言论。
The withdrawal came as Kennedy was set to address the nation on Friday in Arizona amid reports that his presidential ambitions are coming to a close, with falling numbers both in fundraising and in the polls.
肯尼迪的总统竞选野心即将破灭之际，计划于周五在亚利桑那州向全国发表讲话，随后便退出了竞选， 他在筹款和民调中的数字不断下降。
A Super Pac supporting Kennedy told Reuters on Wednesday that Kennedy wanted a deal with Donald Trump in which he endorsed his Republican rival in exchange for a job in a potential Trump administration.
一个支持肯尼迪的超级政治行动委员会周三向路透社表示，肯尼迪希望与唐纳德·特朗普达成协议，即他支持这位共和党竞争对手，以换取在特朗普政府中担任一个职位。
Trump told CNN this week he would "certainly be open" to Kennedy playing a role in his administration if the independent candidate dropped out of the race and endorsed him.
特朗普本周告诉美国有线电视新闻网，他“当然会欢迎” 肯尼迪在他的政府中担任一职，只要这位独立候选人退出竞选并支持特朗普本人。
The Kennedy and Trump campaigns are reported to have been in discussions for several weeks. "It would be so good for [me] and so good for you," Trump said in a recorded phone call to the former Democrat last month.
据报道，肯尼迪和特朗普的竞选团队已经进行了数周的谈判。特朗普上个月在给这位前民主党人的录音电话中说道：“这对[我]和你都有好处。”
Kennedy also reached out to the Kamala Harris campaign last week to discuss dropping out of the race and endorsing the Democratic candidate in exchange for a job in her administration, according to multiple reports. Harris did reportedly not respond.
据多家媒体报道，肯尼迪上周还与卡玛拉·哈里斯的竞选团队联系，讨论退出竞选并支持这位民主党候选人，以换取在她政府中担任一个职位。据报道，哈里斯并未回应。
Kennedy, his vice-presidential running mate, Nicole Shanahan, and 11 of his presidential electors issued a voluntary withdrawal, Arizona's Fontes said in a post on X.
小肯尼迪和他的副总统候选人妮可·沙纳汉以及他的11名总统选举人已自愿退出竞选， 亚利桑那州的丰特斯在X上发布的一篇帖子中写道。
Kennedy, 70, the son of the late Democratic politician and US attorney general Robert F Kennedy and nephew of the late president John F Kennedy, started his presidential campaign as a Democrat, challenging Joe Biden for the nomination.
小肯尼迪现年70岁，是已故民主党政治家、美国司法部长罗伯特·F·肯尼迪的儿子，也是已故总统约翰·F·肯尼迪的侄子， 肯尼迪最初以民主党人的身份开始总统竞选，挑战乔·拜登的提名。
Kennedy is reported to be facing pushback from his wife, the Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines, over rumored plans to throw his support behind Trump.
据报道，肯尼迪的妻子、《抑制热情》主演谢丽尔·海恩斯， 传闻称其对丈夫支持特朗普的计划表示反对。
According to the Hill, Kennedy's negotiations with the Trump campaign to forge an alliance are not popular with Hines.
据《国会山报》报道，肯尼迪与特朗普竞选团队的结盟谈判并不受海恩斯的欢迎。
A source told the publication that Hines "really does not want him" to back the former president. "He's contending with that."
一位消息人士告诉该报，海恩斯“真的不希望他”支持这位前总统。“他正在为此挣扎。”
It is not clear that Kennedy supporters would necessary follow the independent candidate to the Trump ticket. Kennedy's polling has roughly halved – down to about 5% – since Biden dropped out and Harris took up the mantle of presidential hopeful.
尚不清楚肯尼迪的支持者是否会追随这位独立候选人转而支持特朗普。自拜登退出、哈里斯接过总统候选人重任以来，肯尼迪的民调支持率已大致减半——降至约5%。
According to the Hill, Kennedy and Hines agree to disagree on some of the candidate's conspiracy-minded positions, including those around vaccine skepticism, which Trump sometimes appears to share.
据《国会山报》报道，肯尼迪和海恩斯在一些阴谋论立场上存在分歧， 包括疫苗怀疑论，特朗普有时也持类似观点。
When Kennedy compared vaccine mandates to the Nazi Holocaust – a comment he later walked back – Hines posted on X: "My husband's opinions are not a reflection of my own. While we love each other, we differ on many current issues."
肯尼迪曾将疫苗强制接种与纳粹大屠杀相提并论，后来他对此进行了澄清，海恩斯在X上发文称：“我丈夫的意见并不代表我个人的意见。虽然我们彼此相爱，但在许多当前问题上存在分歧。”