Morning Bites (part 2)

📌China’s new internal combustion engine car sales dropped 24% YoY in February, after the +38% YoY seen in January. Meanwhile, the sales also remained below their pre-Covid level (-22% vs. February 2019), amid switching consumer interest toward EVs, which has continued to pressure PGM consumption. To recap, the Chinese automotive sector represents some 26% and 17% of the global demand for Pd and Pt, respectively

📌New EV sales in China fell 9% YoY in February, reversing from the 79% YoY increase in January. This was the first YoY decline since last year, but it has likely reflected the later start of the Lunar New Year (10 February in 2024 vs. 22 January in 2023). In our view, growing local interest for EVs might add further support to the consumption of the battery metals basket (i.e. cobalt, lithium and nickel), as China has accounted for ~50% of global EV demand in recent months

#cars #EV #nickel #lithium #cobalt
https://metals-wire.com/news-reports