Brokers Report, page-40

Europe targets 1.3 million electric vehicles on the road by December amid accelerated sales growth
By
Imelda Cotton August 30, 2018

Europe’s affinity for electric cars has officially moved into top gear, with an industry report showing the total number of plug-in vehicles across all countries combined has passed one million and could well reach the 1.3 million mark by year end.

The continent raced to the million milestone ahead of the United States, which will likely reach the same number later this year pending orders for Tesla’s new Model 3 electric vehicles (EVs), but almost a year behind China’s much larger automotive market.

Data collection and analysis firm EV Volumes this week published performance figures for the European car market which showed a 42% increase in sales of electric vehicles for the first half of 2018, when compared the previous corresponding period.

The figures included fully-electric cars and vans, as well as plug-in hybrid ones, which can travel a short distance off battery power before switching to a conventional engine.
Around 195,000 units were sold throughout Europe in the six months to June 2018 – giving EVs a 2% share of the total auto market – and expectations are high for sales to surpass 400,000 units by year end.


Monthly plug-in vehicle sales in Europe.
A rise in the number of electric models for motorists to choose from has been cited as one of the reasons for the accelerated growth – since mid-2017, five new vehicles have been added to the market, taking the total available across Europe to 56, comprising 27 battery electric models and 29 plug-in hybrids.

“It is a good indication that the 42% sales increase is not just product-driven; it is also the result of better awareness and insight, in the industry and among car buyers,” the report stated.

My view: EV growth is beating expectations, its happening faster than expected.. lithium prices might rebound rather than going down!! Brace for liftoff!!