说到现在的汽车市场，有一个问题很有意思。Speaking of the current car market, there is a very interesting question.
很多人都在问这个问题。Many people are asking this question.
为什么中国的电动车这么便宜？Why are Chinese electric cars so cheap?
特别是和美国的电动车比。Especially when compared to American electric cars.
我们来看看两个很有名的公司。Let's look at two very famous companies.
一个是中国的比亚迪。One is China's BYD.
一个是美国的特斯拉。One is America's Tesla.
这两个公司都做电动车。Both of these companies make electric cars.
他们的车都很漂亮。Their cars are all very beautiful.
他们的车都跑得很快。Their cars all run very fast.
但是，价格不一样。However, the prices are different.
比亚迪的车比特斯拉的车便宜很多。BYD's cars are much cheaper than Tesla's cars.
这到底是为什么呢？Why on earth is this?
是因为中国的车不好吗？Is it because Chinese cars are bad?
不是的，中国的车也很好。No, Chinese cars are also very good.
我们来慢慢聊一聊。Let's chat about it slowly.
首先，很多人有一个想法。First, many people have an idea.
他们觉得是因为政府给钱。They think it is because the government gives money.
是的，这是真的。Yes, this is true.
中国政府确实给了公司一些钱。The Chinese government indeed gave companies some money.
政府希望大家做电动车。The government hopes everyone makes electric cars.
政府希望大家买电动车。The government hopes everyone buys electric cars.
所以政府会给一些帮助。So the government will give some help.
但是，这不管用了吗？But, does this explain it all?
这是最重要的原因吗？Is this the most important reason?
其实不是的。Actually, it is not.
这只是一个小小的原因。This is just a tiny reason.
新的研究告诉我们需要看别的。New research tells us we need to look at other things.
比如说，一辆车便宜了几千块钱。For example, if a car is cheaper by a few thousand yuan.
只有几百块钱是因为政府。Only a few hundred yuan is because of the government.
剩下的钱是因为别的原因。The remaining money is because of other reasons.
那别的原因是什么呢？Then what are the other reasons?
这是我们要知道的事情。This is the thing we need to know.
第一个大原因，是自己做东西。The first big reason is making things themselves.
这是什么意思呢？What does this mean?
我们想一想怎么做一辆车。Let's think about how to make a car.
车里有很多很多的东西。There are many, many things inside a car.
有轮子，有椅子，有玻璃。There are wheels, there are seats, there is glass.
最重要的东西是电池。The most important thing is the battery.
电动车必须要有电池。Electric cars must have batteries.
电池非常贵。Batteries are very expensive.
很多汽车公司不自己做电池。Many car companies do not make batteries themselves.
他们去买别人的电池。They go to buy other people's batteries.
他们去买别人的零件。They go to buy other people's parts.
当你买别人的东西时，你要给别人钱。When you buy other people's things, you have to give other people money.
别人也要赚钱。Others also want to make money.
所以东西就变贵了。So things become expensive.
但是比亚迪不一样。But BYD is different.
比亚迪自己做很多东西。BYD makes many things themselves.
比亚迪自己做电池。BYD makes batteries themselves.
比亚迪自己做零件。BYD makes parts themselves.
他们不需要去外面买。They do not need to go outside to buy.
因为是自己做的，所以便宜。Because it is made by themselves, it is cheap.
这就好像做饭一样。This is just like cooking.
你去饭馆买饭吃，很贵。You go to a restaurant to buy food to eat, it is very expensive.
你自己在家买菜做饭，很便宜。You buy groceries and cook at home yourself, it is very cheap.
这就是比亚迪的方法。This is BYD's method.
他们自己做，所以省了很多钱。They make it themselves, so they save a lot of money.
这是一个非常重要的原因。This is a very important reason.
比政府给钱更重要。More important than the government giving money.
第二个大原因，是人。The second big reason is people.
做车需要很多人。Making cars needs many people.
需要很多聪明的工程师。Needs many smart engineers.
他们要设计车。They have to design the car.
他们要画图。They have to draw plans.
他们要用电脑工作。They have to work using computers.
做车还需要很多工人。Making cars also needs many workers.
他们在工厂里工作。They work inside factories.
他们把车做出来。They build the cars.
这些人都需要钱。These people all need money.
公司要给他们发工资。The company has to pay them wages.
在美国，工资很高。In the United States, wages are very high.
美国的工程师要很多钱。American engineers want a lot of money.
美国的工人也要很多钱。American workers also want a lot of money.
所以特斯拉要花很多钱在人身上。So Tesla has to spend a lot of money on people.
但是在中国，情况不一样。But in China, the situation is different.
中国的工程师也很聪明。Chinese engineers are also very smart.
中国的工人也很努力。Chinese workers are also very hardworking.
但是中国的工资比美国低。But Chinese wages are lower than in the US.
公司不需要给那么多钱。The company doesn't need to give that much money.
虽然工资在涨，但是还是比美国低。Although wages are rising, they are still lower than in the US.
这让做车的成本变低了。This makes the cost of making cars lower.
特别是做研究的人。Especially the people doing research.
比亚迪有很多做研究的人。BYD has many people doing research.
但是花在每个人身上的钱比较少。But the money spent on each person is relatively less.
所以，这也是车便宜的一个原因。So, this is also a reason why the cars are cheap.
因为人便宜，所以车便宜。Because labor is cheap, the cars are cheap.
第三个大原因，是数量。The third big reason is quantity.
数量就是多少的意思。Quantity means "how much".
你做多少辆车？How many cars do you make?
这是一个数学问题。This is a math problem.
如果你只做一辆车，这辆车很贵。If you only make one car, this car is very expensive.
你要准备很多机器。You have to prepare many machines.
你要准备很多工厂。You have to prepare many factories.
只做一辆，太浪费了。Making only one is too wasteful.
但是如果你做一百万辆车呢？But what if you make one million cars?
机器每天都在工作。The machines are working every day.
工厂每天都在开。The factories are open every day.
你做的车越多，每一辆车就越便宜。The more cars you make, the cheaper each car becomes.
这是一个很简单道理。This is a very simple principle.
中国的市场非常大。China's market is very big.
中国有很多人。China has many people.
很多人都要买车。Many people want to buy cars.
所以比亚迪做的车非常多。So BYD makes a very large number of cars.
他们卖的车也非常多。They also sell a very large number of cars.
因为他们做的多，所以便宜。Because they make a lot, they are cheap.
特斯拉也做很多车。Tesla also makes many cars.
但是现在比亚迪做的更多。But now BYD makes even more.
这让比亚迪更有优势。This gives BYD more of an advantage.
所以，我们总结一下。So, let's summarize.
为什么中国的车比美国的车便宜？Why are Chinese cars cheaper than American cars?
不是因为车不好。It is not because the cars are bad.
也不是主要因为政府给钱。Nor is it mainly because the government gives money.
虽然政府给了钱，但是那只是一点点。Although the government gave money, that is only a little bit.
主要的原因有三个。There are three main reasons.
第一，他们自己做零件，自己做电池。First, they make parts themselves, and make batteries themselves.
这叫垂直整合。This is called vertical integration.
自己做比买别人的便宜。Making it yourself is cheaper than buying from others.
第二，他们的人便宜。Second, their labor is cheap.
工程师和工人的工资比美国低。The wages of engineers and workers are lower than in the US.
这帮公司省了很多钱。This helps the company save a lot of money.
第三，他们做的车多。Third, they make many cars.
因为做得多，所以成本低。Because they make a lot, the cost is low.
这就是为什么比亚迪比特斯拉便宜。This is why BYD is cheaper than Tesla.
这其实是两个公司的比赛。This is actually a competition between two companies.
一个是中国的公司。One is a Chinese company.
一个是美国的公司。One is an American company.
现在，中国的公司价格更低。Now, the Chinese company has lower prices.
美国的公司觉得很难。The American company feels it is very difficult.
因为美国的公司如果不改变，就很难卖出去。Because if the American company does not change, it will be hard to sell.
但是改变也很难。But changing is also difficult.
他们不能马上让工资变低。They cannot immediately make wages lower.
他们也不能马上自己做所有零件。Nor can they immediately make all parts themselves.
所以，这是一场很难的比赛。So, this is a very difficult competition.
我们刚才说的，其实就是关于“电动车”的故事。What we just talked about is actually a story about "electric cars".
特别是比亚迪和特斯拉的故事。Especially the story of BYD and Tesla.
如果你想买车，你会发现价格真的不同。If you want to buy a car, you will discover the prices are really different.
这就是价格背后的秘密。This is the secret behind the price.
希望你现在清楚了。I hope you are clear now.
这不仅仅是钱的问题。This is not just a problem of money.
这也是关于怎么做生意的问题。This is also a problem about how to do business.
也是关于怎么做东西的问题。It is also a problem about how to make things.
