China's new energy vehicle sales hit all-time high in November: CAAM

China's new energy vehicle sales reached an all-time high of 450,000 units in November, rising 121% on the year and 17% higher than October, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, or CAAM, said Dec. 10.

NEV sales accounted for 17.8% of China's total vehicle sales in November and has accounted for 10% of the market share for seven consecutive months, S&P Global Platts calculation showed.

China's NEV output surged 128% on the year, to 457,000 units in November, while the figure went up 15% month on month. Both NEV output and sales have been rising for 17 straight months on an annual basis.

The major pickup in China's NEV sales was seen in May this year, as the industry benefited from the country's efforts to reach carbon goals.

China's NEV sales are expected to reach 3.3 million units in 2021 and that number will rise to 5 million units in 2022, market insiders told Platts. NEV sales should reach 20% of the total vehicle sales in 2022 or 2023, they added.

In the first 11 months of 2021, China's total NEV output and sales amounted to 3.02 and 2.99 million units, respectively. NEV output and sales in January-November are up 167.4% and 166.8%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.

China's electric vehicle industry has been seeing a robust growth for a while, leading to a major spurt in allied industries like lithium and aluminum value chain.

This year, electric vehicle sales in China have overshadowed sale numbers seen in the US and the EU, data from Platts Analytics showed.

Lithium prices soar

Strong downstream demand and tight supply have driven prices for Chinese lithium carbonate to historic highs, with market participants expecting tradable levels to breach Yuan 250,000/mt ($39,353/mt) by Q1 2022.

S&P Global Platts assessed battery-grade lithium carbonate at Yuan 225,000/mt Dec. 10 on a delivered, duty-paid China basis, up 270% from the start of 2021.

The booming lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery sector was cited as the main driver for lithium carbonate prices.

The expansion in LFP production capacity continues to outpace that of nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) in the domestic market, keeping hydroxide prices well below that of carbonate.

Despite its more illiquid nature, hydroxide prices also increased 275% since the start of 2021 to Yuan 198,500/mt.

Meanwhile, China's output of power battery -- the major consumer for battery metals -- hit a record high of 28.2 GWh in November, up 12% month on month and 122% from a year earlier, according to separate data released by the China Automobile Battery Innovation Alliance.

The output of ternary and LFP battery reached 10.4 and 17.8 GWh, respectively, in November, taking up 36.8% and 63% of the total output.