????去年，電動汽車制造商特斯拉公司開始在中國銷售第一批Model S汽車。由于中國對奢侈品的需求日益增加，政府也希望增加環保汽車的比例，該公司似乎搶占了很好的位置。

????特斯拉確定了宏偉的銷售目標，迅速展開了招聘狂潮——最終將600名員工招入麾下，并開始積極建造名為“超級充電站”的免費快速充電站。

????但該公司隨后就開始步履維艱。2014年，特斯拉沒有完成銷售目標，在中國只銷售了約3500輛，低于中國競爭對手比亞迪公司和北汽集團的電動和插電式混合動力汽車的銷量。

????特斯拉公司首席執行官埃隆?馬斯克認為，在華銷量疲軟的主因是中國消費者存在一種誤解，認為給電動汽車充電十分困難。其他人則認為中國大多數人都沒有用于充電的私人車庫，這種基礎設施的匱乏才是真正的問題。

????然而，幾乎沒有人提到汽車所有權的問題，這個被忽視的因素很有可能對Model S的銷量產生了重大影響。直到如今，該問題才開始得到緩慢的解決。

????北京、廣州、杭州、上海、深圳和天津等中國城市為了減少污染，已經對個人汽車實施限購令。私家車主只能通過每月一次的搖號來獲取車號牌照。

????然而，所謂的新能源汽車享受了特殊的優惠政策，一些地方政府規定，它們不需要通過搖號就能獲取牌照。

????去年進入中國市場時，特斯拉并沒有被各個城市的相關部門認定為新能源汽車，因此無法免除搖號程序。如此一來，Model S的潛在買家就只能靜靜等待搖號通過，這一障礙可能影響了汽車的銷量。

????除了搖號之外，中國官員還會決定哪些車型能夠獲得新能源汽車的補貼。波士頓研究咨詢機構Lux Research的研究助理莉莉婭?謝表示，直到最近，地方政府還只給本土制造商提供補貼。謝補充道，特斯拉并未從中國政府得到新能源汽車補貼。

????本月早些時候，天津將特斯拉加入了補貼名單。該公司之前還進入了廣州、杭州、上海和深圳的名單，但還沒有進入北京的補貼名單。

????謝表示：“北京是一個大市場。沒有哪個市場的重要性可以與北京相提并論。”（財富中文網）

????譯者：嚴匡正

????審校：任文科

????When electric automaker Tesla Motors began delivering the first Model S sedans to Chinese customers last year, the company seemed well-positioned to meet a growing demand for luxury goods and fulfill a desire by the central government to put more eco-friendly cars on the road.

????Tesla TSLA -0.26% , aiming to meetlofty sales goals, quickly went on a hiring spree (eventually amassing a staff of 600 people) and began an aggressive rollout of free fast-charging stations known as superchargers.

????But, then the company stumbled. It failed to hit its sales goals and sold fewer cars—approximately 3,500 in 2014—than electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles produced by Chinese rivals BYD and BAIC.

????CEO Elon Musk has placed much of the blame on a misconception among Chinese consumers that charging electric cars was difficult. Others argued that infrastructure, in a country where most people don’t have private garages to charge cars, was the real problem.

????However, a little-discussed barrier regarding car ownership—which likely had a big effect on Model S sales—was pushed to the side, and is only now slowly being addressed.

????In Chinese cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tianjin, regulations have been put in place to limit the number of cars an individual can own in an effort to reduce pollution. Prospective owners in the country can only acquire a license plate through a monthly lottery system.

????However, so-called new energy vehicles have special privileges, which include local governments exempting them from the lottery system.

????When Tesla entered the Chinese market last year, the company didn’t certify itself with each individual city in order to be included on their selected vehicle list and therefore weren’t excluded from the lottery. Without this exemption, potential Model S buyers must wait and go through the lottery system, an obstacle that could dampen sales.

????In addition to lottery lists, officials also determine which models qualify for new energy vehicle subsidies. Until recently, local governments were known to hand out subsidies only to manufacturers based in its own region, says Lilia Xie, a research associate with Boston-based Lux Research, later adding that Tesla doesn’t receive new energy vehicle subsidies from the Chinese government.

????Earlier this month, Tianjin added Tesla to its selected vehicle list. The company previously made the list in Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen. That leaves Beijing as the final holdout.

????“Beijing is the big one, Xie says. “There’s no other market that matters as much.”