Lithium Race: Electric Car Roundup From The 2017 Detroit Auto Show: Comprehensive Video Guide

Electric Cars are coming, finally, for all of us to chose from. It is quite strange that there is not a word in this video about Tesla. The real mass adoption of electric cars in the West will start with Tesla Model 3 and GM Bolt (first two EVs priced below $40k and with over 200 miles of range on a charge) if GM is really serious about it. I am not sure yet, judging by the numbers. China is selling now more electric cars than Europe and the U.S. combined and Europe is ahead of U.S. already!

Nothing is lost before we lose it. Goldman Sachs is at its best today upgrading Volkswagen. No, the upgrade is coming not on the recent VW Group announcement about the very bold move with its electric cars into China. It is based on the Volkswagen DIEselGate settlement with the U.S. government, which I guess will allow all those cancer hazards emitting diesel cars to stay on the roads and continue to be sold. But not for long. As Solar is crushing now all records on the falling costs so the lithium batteries will do - they will be getting very fast cheaper and better. Tesla's Gigafactory will start this process with mass production and dozens of Lithium Megafactories which are coming all over the world will finish off all ICE cars in the next 10 years. And here where is your real power coming now as a consumer. Just stop buying all those ICE age monsters.

The trends for electric cars at Detroit auto show are very interesting this year. All automakers are jumping on the bandwagon and we can see the first fruits of The Learning Curve in action. Electric Cars are coming with lithium batteries providing larger capacities and range respectively and at the lower prices. This competition will be the main driving force for the mass adoption of EVs. We are now at the exponential stage of the S-Curve for electric cars. Next year is shaping up as the tide of the new electric cars I was talking about here which will make The Switch possible even in the West. Starting from 2018 almost every quarter we will have a new electric car model coming into the market. It will be impressive, but the real leapfrogging into the 21st century is happening right now in China. There are 25 companies making and selling 51 models of EVs already and 200 companies are developing ... 4000 new models of EVs for the largest auto market in the world. Read more.

Tesla Gigafactory Begins Battery Production: Lithium Supply Chain Goes All Around The Globe And Back To China.

We have another very important milestone for our Energy rEvolution. Tesla Gigafactory begins lithium battery production as planned by Elon Musk years ago. Another thing we have been discussing here for all these years is that there is no lithium under the floor of Gigafactory in Nevada. China controls now the market of lithium chemicals which are used to produce lithium cells. In a case of Tesla, Panasonic is still supplying lithium cells and buying its lithium materials from Chinese companies like Ganfeng Lithium. 

We are talking here about the security of lithium supply and market which is growing exponentially from the very low base of $1 billion in total sales in 2015. Now we have electric cars crossing the 1% of the sales of all new cars and attacking the exponential part of the adoption S-curve. Lithium market size will be driven by price and volume. 

The price of lithium in the finished battery is below 2% - 3%. Total volume last year was around 180,000 - 200,000 LCE T. Every 1% of increased share for electric cars in total auto sales demands new supply of 70,000 LCE T. China is talking about California style ZEV mandate with EVs to represent 8% of all new cars sales by 2018 and 12% by 2020! Last year we have just crossed 1.4% in China in sales for EVs... They are talking about EV market growth in China by 9-10 times in 3 years time. Watch the video."