Takeaways

• In China, year-to-date figures for the first quarter of 2024 show a 28.2% and 31.8% rise in production and sales of NEVs, totalling approximately 2 million units.
• Recent government initiatives in China are likely to accelerate the shift from ICE vehicles to EVs with a significant boost in EV demand in China this year.
• With a growing selection of new EV models and enhancements in range, charging speeds, and infrastructure, the phase-out of ICE vehicles in China is expected to speed up.
  
• Chinese electric cars have also gained significant appeal due to their incorporation of cutting-edge technologies and features, often surpassing those found in American and European-made vehicles.
• A combination of various factors and cathode stocks at historically low levels could lead LCE inventories to be pulled through, adding support for sustained higher lithium prices upstream in the second half of the year.