经济学人 | 是谁杀死了西方车展？

Car shows in the West are in terminal decline

西方车展正无可挽回地走向衰落

Chinese firms are keeping them on life support

中国车企正在为它们“续命”

Shifting trends in the car industry are best illustrated by the plight of Geneva’s hoteliers. Securing a place to stay during the city’s annual motor show once required booking at least a year ahead and paying an extortionate rate for even basic accommodation.

日内瓦酒店经营者的窘境最能说明汽车行业的变化趋势。过去，要在日内瓦一年一度的车展期间找到一个住处至少需要提前一年预订，即使是最基本的住宿也价格高昂。

This year rooms in the city were plentiful. Organisers’ hopes for 200,000 visitors seem optimistic. An event that once no car firm could afford to miss, and that attracted crowds of over 700,000, was attended sparsely —chiefly, it seemed, by journalists who got a preview before the show opened to the paying public on February 28th.

今年，日内瓦的客房却非常充裕。组织者们对20万参观者的预期已是显得乐观。曾经这个任何车企都不容错过的盛会能吸引70多万人，今年却乏人问津——来的人似乎主要是记者，他们在展会于2月28日向公众收费开放之前已先睹为快。

The few companies that turned up were characterised by one car executive as “China, China, China and Renault”. They occupied less than a quarter of the floor space of previous years.

寥寥几家参展公司按一位汽车行业高管的描述是“中国、中国、中国和雷诺”。它们所占的展厅面积还不到往年的四分之一。

Geneva is not the only big car event in decline. Frankfurt and Paris, which took it in turns to host Europe’s other big annual show, have dramatically downsized. The Paris jamboree of 2022 was a shadow of its former self. The German bash moved to Munich and became smaller. In both cases domestic firms were outshone by Chinese rivals such as BYD and Great Wall Motor.

日内瓦车展并不是唯一走向衰落的汽车盛会。法兰克福和巴黎曾轮流主办欧洲另一个大型年度车展，如今也大幅缩减了规模。2022年的巴黎车展大不如前。而德国将车展移师慕尼黑，规模也变得更小。在这两个展会上，本土企业都被比亚迪和长城汽车等中国竞争对手盖过了风头。

America’s premier event in Detroit has also suffered an exodus of firms. A scheduling shift from the depths of Michigan’s harsh winter to the summer months has failed to revive interest. It will now revert to its winter date in 2025.

在底特律举行的美国顶级车展也遭遇了车企流失。车展将举办时间从密歇根州的严冬改到了夏季月份，仍未能让人们重燃兴趣。如今，该车展将于2025年恢复到冬季举办。

But the changing nature of cars, which rely on software to lure buyers as much as sleekly bent metal, makes events such as the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas more appealing showcases for manufacturers.

但是，由于汽车的性质正在发生变化，要吸引买家不仅要靠线条优美流畅的金属车身，也要靠软件，这就使得拉斯维加斯消费电子展等活动对制造商来说更具吸引力了。

Reduced relevance makes the high price tag of turning up at shows harder for carmakers to stomach . Elaborate stands cost millions to build and then reconstruct at the next event halfway across the world.

车展热度降低，汽车制造商也就更难接受参展的高昂费用。精心布置的展台要耗费数百万美元，下一次跨越半个地球参加另一场展会时又要重新搭建。

Car firms started to question the logic of competing to unveil the latest models at a single event when they could command more attention with dedicated launches or significant announcements at a time and place of their choosing.

车企开始质疑竞相在同一个展会上发布最新车型是否明智，因为它们大可自行选择时间和地点举行专门的发布会或宣布重大消息，这样能吸引更多关注。

Often such occasions now coincide with motor shows. On the eve of Geneva’s opening, Fiat (part of Stellantis, whose biggest shareholder part-owns The Economist’s parent company) released a video of its new Panda concept cars. (Reports on February 27th that Apple was abandoning its ten-year effort to build an electric car were probably not intended as a spoiler.) As a way of attracting buyers, cash can these days be far more effectively spent on marketing through other means, especially on social media.

这样的活动如今常与车展撞期。在日内瓦车展开幕前夕，菲亚特（Stellantis 旗下品牌，Stellantis 的最大股东部分持股本刊母公司）发布了新款熊猫概念车的视频。（2月27日有报道称苹果公司将放弃十年来研发电动汽车的努力，可能并不是有意抢戏吧。）如今要吸引买家，把钱花在其他营销手段上（尤其是社交媒体）效果可能要好得多。

In the absence of prominent Western marques—many of which still bitterly resent the Swiss organisers for calling off the show in 2020 at the last minute as covid-19 was spreading and then refusing to issue refunds—the atmosphere in Geneva this year was dull even by Switzerland’s exacting standards.

由于西方著名品牌的缺席（它们当中有许多仍对2020年瑞士主办方因新冠肺炎蔓延而在最后一刻取消车展并拒绝退款的做法极其反感），即使以瑞士的严格标准来看，今年日内瓦车展的气氛也堪称沉闷。

Renault drummed up some buzz with its new electric Renault 5, an affordable, neatly styled runaround. Another company to make a splash was BYD, with the European debut of the Yangwang U8, a luxury hybrid SUV with the amphibious ability to move on water. These days it is mostly Chinese carmakers that are keeping Europe’s big shows afloat.

雷诺推出的新款电动车雷诺5引起了一些反响，这款小轿车价格实惠、造型简洁。另一家引起轰动的公司是比亚迪，它首次向欧洲消费者展示了仰望U8车型，这款具水陆两栖能力的豪华混合动力SUV能在水上行进。如今，主要还是靠着中国车企这根浮木，欧洲的大型车展才不至于全沉了。