Sales on the Lightning had tanked, in part because it cost more than its gas-powered counterpart.

閃電 "的銷量下滑，部分原因是其成本高於同類汽油車。

This isn't just a problem for Ford.

這不僅僅是福特的問題。

The average price of a new EV in the U.S.

美國新電動汽車的平均價格

is about $55,000, making electric cars a hard sell for most U.S.

約為 55,000 美元，這使得大多數美國人很難買到電動汽車。

consumers at a time when EV adoption is critical for our climate goals.

在電動汽車的採用對我們的氣候目標至關重要的時刻，我們應該為消費者提供更多的選擇。

Roughly 40% of the cost to produce an electric vehicle is in the battery.

電動汽車生產成本的大約 40% 來自電池。

So in 2023, it was reported that Ford was looking at sites in Virginia or Michigan for a new battery plant that could help lower its costs.

是以，在 2023 年，有報道稱福特正在弗吉尼亞州或密歇根州尋找新的電池工廠選址，以幫助降低成本。

But there's a catch.

但有一個問題。

The battery technology you would use is from a company based here in Fujian Province, China.

您將使用的電池技術來自中國福建省的一家公司。

That company is CATL, the largest battery maker in the world.

這家公司就是 CATL，全球最大的電池製造商。

Virginia's governor decided to kill the battery plant proposal in his state because of its links to China.

弗吉尼亞州州長決定取消在該州建立電池廠的提議，因為該廠與中國有關聯。

They are influenced, if not controlled, by the Chinese Communist Party.

他們受到中國共產黨的影響，甚至是控制。

Putting Ford's CEO on the defense.

讓福特公司首席執行官為自己辯護

Look, this plant is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford.

聽著，這家工廠是福特的全資子公司。

And leaving them to look elsewhere for a site.

讓他們去其他地方尋找網站。

This battery plant got caught up in a broader trade war between U.S. and China, a reaction to the extraordinary rise of China's electric vehicle market.

這家電池廠被捲入了中美之間更廣泛的貿易戰，這是對中國電動汽車市場異軍突起的反應。

They make up over half of all EV sales globally.

它們佔全球電動汽車總銷量的一半以上。

And in just a few short years have brought slick and affordable electric cars to the market.

在短短几年內，他們就為市場帶來了性能卓越、價格合理的電動汽車。

Key to this rise is the electric vehicle battery.

電動汽車電池是這一增長的關鍵。

This part of the EV is where China has really come to dominate the global market.

這部分電動車是中國真正主導全球市場的地方。

So how did Chinese companies create the world's leading EV battery?

那麼，中國企業是如何製造出世界領先的電動汽車電池的呢？

And can U.S. automakers make an affordable electric car without it?

沒有它，美國汽車製造商能製造出經濟實惠的電動汽車嗎？

The first major reason for why China's companies were able to develop their EV battery is due to a huge amount of government support.

中國企業能夠開發電動汽車電池的第一個主要原因是政府的大力支持。

Roughly 20 years ago, China was on track to become the world's largest importer of oil.

大約 20 年前，中國有望成為世界上最大的石油進口國。

So electrifying its car fleet would help it become more energy independent.

是以，實現汽車電氣化將有助於提高其能源獨立性。

Not to mention a growing air pollution problem in China's cities, in part due to car emissions.

更不用說中國城市日益嚴重的空氣汙染問題，部分原因就是汽車尾氣排放。

What the EVs had going for them was that the head of the Ministry of Science and Technology was a big believer in this.

電動汽車的優勢在於科技部部長對此深信不疑。

And his sense was that Chinese companies were just never going to be able to compete on internal combustion engine technology.

他認為，中國公司永遠無法在內燃機技術上與之競爭。

That's how you get this package of policies that really supported what Chinese government defined as new energy vehicles.

是以，才有了這套真正支持中國政府所定義的新能源汽車的政策。

Companies making the cars can get a subsidy whenever they sell a car.

生產汽車的公司只要賣出一輛汽車，就能獲得補貼。

We're also talking about they're getting cheap like land leases from the government.

我們還在談論他們從政府那裡獲得了廉價的土地租約。

They're getting cheap loans from the state-owned banks.

他們從國有銀行獲得廉價貸款。

According to one estimate, from 2009 to 2022, the Chinese government gave out $29 billion in the form of subsidies, research spending, and tax breaks to the EV industry.

據估計，從 2009 年到 2022 年，中國政府將以補貼、科研支出和稅收減免的形式向電動汽車行業發放 290 億美元。

And starting around 2009, local governments also gave Chinese companies an instant market by contracting them to electrify their bus and taxi fleets.

大約從 2009 年開始，地方政府也與中國公司簽訂了公車和計程車電氣化合同，從而使中國公司立即獲得了市場。

The city of Shenzhen's fleet of 16,000 buses was electrified by BYD before it became the world's largest EV company.

在比亞迪成為全球最大的電動汽車公司之前，深圳市的 16,000 輛公車已由比亞迪實現了電氣化。

To get consumers on board, governments offered them generous subsidies too, along with other benefits.

為了讓消費者加入進來，政府也為他們提供了豐厚的補貼和其他福利。

Like discounts on charging, favorable parking, traffic congestion-related policies that EVs get a break on.

比如充電折扣、停車優惠、與交通擁堵相關的政策，電動汽車都能享受到這些優惠。

EVs actually have a different colored license plate even, so it's very visible.

實際上，電動汽車的車牌顏色都不一樣，所以非常顯眼。

And so people see, oh, that's an EV.

於是人們看到，哦，那是一輛電動車。

They get all the special treatment.

他們得到了所有的特殊待遇。

But the battery wasn't very good in the early days.

但早期的電池性能並不好。

And so the Chinese government goes in and starts introducing stricter standards on batteries.

是以，中國政府開始引入更嚴格的電池標準。

Saying, well, you only qualify for this credit if your battery density reaches this level.

也就是說，只有當你的電池密度達到這個水準時，你才有資格獲得這項優惠。

Consumer EV sales in China exploded.

中國的消費類電動車銷量呈爆炸式增長。

And when it did, the government did something important to protect their own battery industry.

當它出現時，政府做了一件重要的事情來保護自己的電池產業。

When foreign car companies like GM and Tesla wanted to sell their EVs in China, the government made a rule that their cars must use Chinese-made batteries to qualify for consumer subsidies.

當通用汽車和特斯拉等外國汽車公司希望在中國銷售電動汽車時，中國政府規定，它們的汽車必須使用中國製造的電池，才有資格獲得消費者補貼。

China's central government phased out consumer subsidies in 2022.

中國中央政府於 2022 年逐步取消消費補貼。

But the demand had been created.

但需求已經產生。

In 2024, over half of new car sales in China were electric.

2024 年，中國新車銷量的一半以上將是電動汽車。

This is like a milestone, because half is a big thing.

這就像是一個里程碑，因為一半是一件大事。

It means that the majority of the people are actually preferring EVs over gas car style.

這說明，與汽油車相比，大多數人實際上更喜歡電動車。

The second way Chinese battery companies became so dominant is through the supply chain for the battery components.

中國電池企業佔據主導地位的第二個途徑是電池組件供應鏈。

The type of battery that typically goes into electric vehicles is called a lithium-ion battery.

電動汽車通常使用的電池類型稱為鋰離子電池。

The forming components of the battery cell are the cathode, the anode, the electrolyte solution, and a separator.

電池的組成部件包括陰極、陽極、電解質溶液和隔膜。

The cathode is usually packed with nickel, cobalt, and manganese.

陰極通常含有鎳、鈷和錳。

The anode uses graphite, and the electrolyte is made up of mostly lithium salts.

負極使用石墨，電解質主要由鋰鹽組成。

Over the past several years,

在過去幾年裡

Chinese companies started acquiring ownership stakes in mines around the world where these minerals exist.

中國公司開始收購世界各地存在這些礦產的礦山的所有權。

So they're sure that if we control the production, then we control the price.

所以他們確信，只要我們控制了生產，就能控制價格。

The effect is that Chinese companies control significant percentages of the world's supply of the minerals needed for batteries.

其結果是，中國公司控制了全球電池所需礦物供應的很大一部分。

But where China really controls the supply chain are the steps after mining.

但中國真正控制供應鏈的是採礦之後的環節。

No matter who mines the minerals, China refines a vast majority of them.

無論誰開採礦產，中國都會提煉其中的絕大部分。

This is the step where factories grind down raw mined materials and extract the desired mineral from it.

在這一步驟中，工廠將開採出的原材料進行研磨，從中提取出所需的礦物。

It's pretty polluting.

汙染很嚴重

That's why you don't see as much refining happening in developed countries.

這就是為什麼在發達國家看不到那麼多精煉的原因。

Chinese plants then also manufacture the vast majority of the four components of the EV batteries, the cathode, the anode, the electrolyte, and the separator, and put them together to make the battery cell.

然後，中國工廠還生產電動汽車電池的絕大多數四種組件，即陰極、陽極、電解液和隔膜，並將它們組合在一起製成電池單元。

Because you already had pretty developed manufacturing for batteries aimed at electronics.

因為你們已經有了相當發達的針對電子產品的電池製造技術。

So BYD is actually one of those examples.

是以，比亞迪實際上就是其中的一個例子。

They started by producing batteries for electronics in the 90s, and then it got into producing EVs.

上世紀 90 年代，他們從生產電子產品電池起步，隨後開始生產電動汽車。

The U.S. was never a battery manufacturing player, historically speaking, in lithium ion.

從歷史上看，美國從來都不是鋰離子電池的生產國。

It was previously Japan and Korea.

以前是日本和韓國。

China has now superseded both.

現在，中國已經取代了這兩個國家。

China's control of the battery supply chain is so encompassing that after the Biden administration passed a rule saying no more than half of the battery's components or minerals could be Chinese-sourced to qualify for tax credits, only an estimated 20% of EV models qualified.

中國對電池供應鏈的控制範圍如此之廣，以至於拜登政府通過一項規定，即電池組件或礦物質的中國來源不得超過半數，以獲得稅收抵免資格後，估計只有 20% 的電動車型符合條件。

With their market dominance,

憑藉其市場主導地位、

Chinese companies have been able to lead the world in battery innovation.

中國企業在電池創新方面一直處於世界領先地位。

In the past two years, Chinese companies figured out how to avoid using the two most expensive battery minerals, nickel and cobalt.

在過去兩年裡，中國公司想出了避免使用鎳和鈷這兩種最昂貴的電池礦物的方法。

They did this by innovating on battery technology called lithium iron phosphate, or LFP.

他們通過創新磷酸鐵鋰電池技術實現了這一目標。

In 2023, CATL announced an LFP battery that could power a car for 370 miles on just a 10-minute charge.

2023 年，CATL 公佈了一種低溫多晶體電池，只需充電 10 分鐘，就能驅動汽車行駛 370 英里。

And BYD has developed their own version of an LFP battery, too.

比亞迪也開發出了自己的 LFP 電池。

It's called a blade battery.

這就是所謂的刀片電池。

It's a very thin, very long blade.

這是一把非常薄、非常長的刀。

But basically they're saying that by using that shape, it can bring more batteries into the same space.

但他們基本上是說，通過使用這種形狀，可以在相同的空間內裝入更多的電池。

So in that way, the same size of a car can travel farther.

是以，同樣大小的汽車可以行駛得更遠。

Today, LFP batteries are a growing share of all EV batteries, and nearly all of them are manufactured in China.

如今，LFP 電池在所有電動汽車電池中所佔的比例越來越大，而且幾乎所有電池都在中國生產。

But not for long.

但好景不長。

CATL has built battery plants in Germany and has plans to build one in Hungary for the European auto market.

CATL 已在德國建立了電池廠，並計劃在匈牙利為歐洲汽車市場建立一家電池廠。

And Ford ended up finding a home for its CATL battery plant in the town of Marshall, Michigan.

福特最終在密歇根州的馬歇爾鎮為其 CATL 電池廠找到了落腳點。

The project has triggered a U.S. House investigation, but if it goes through, it'll be the first LFP plant in the U.S.

該項目引發了美國眾議院的調查，但如果順利通過，它將成為美國第一家 LFP 工廠。

All of these factors have made Chinese EV batteries virtually impossible to avoid in the global transition to electric vehicles.

所有這些因素使得中國電動汽車電池在全球向電動汽車過渡的過程中幾乎無法迴避。

Was there not a viable alternative?

難道就沒有其他可行的選擇嗎？

No, there wasn't.

不，沒有。

LFP technology is very well developed.

LFP 技術非常發達。

The battery business is a global business.

電池業務是一項全球性業務。

And there were no alternatives.

而且沒有其他選擇。

There are some concerns about whether China's government support of the EV industry amounts to unfair global competition, as well as human rights and environmental concerns associated with China's battery supply chain.

有些人擔心中國政府對電動汽車行業的支持是否構成不公平的全球競爭，以及與中國電池供應鏈相關的人權和環境問題。

The U.S. is investing in their own government support to build up its battery industry.

美國政府正在投資支持電池產業的發展。

Bloomberg estimated it would cost $82 billion for the U.S. to meet their own domestic demand by 2030.

據彭博社估計，到 2030 年，美國將花費 820 億美元來滿足自己的國內需求。

So it might be possible in the future, but that's no help right now when we desperately need to transition to electric vehicles to wean ourselves from fossil fuels.

是以，這在未來也許是可行的，但在我們急需過渡到電動汽車以擺脫化石燃料的當下，這無濟於事。

And U.S. automakers are struggling to give consumers affordable options.

而美國汽車製造商正努力為消費者提供經濟實惠的選擇。

So for now, we'll have to decide whether our desire to keep our distance from China outweighs our goals of going electric.

是以，現在我們必須決定，我們與中國保持距離的願望是否大於我們實現電動化的目標。