That prediction proved conservative – global penetration reached over 5% in 2020. The data is still trickling in, but the second quarter of this year is on course to set a new record for the electrification of the global car parc with 26% of passenger vehicle sales either full electric, plug-in or conventional hybrids.
Traditional hybrids remain a meaningful source of battery metals demand (thanks to large volumes and the widespread use of nickel metal hydride batteries) and even when stripping out Priuses (Pria?) with new owners, nearly one in five vehicles sold worldwide in Q2 was electrified.
Yet, when pairing robust metals demand with often volatile prices in the EV battery supply chain the picture looks very different.
The graph from Adamas Intelligence below shows the monthly dollar value of lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite contained in the batteries of EVs based on global end-user EV…
