How China is cornering the market for electric-car batteries

As the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) begins in earnest, a battery “arms race” is underway, and China is in pole position. A range of factors – including tightening emissions rules, earlier bans on internal-combustion models, and consumer incentives – are driving EV sales faster than expected, especially in China and Europe. Morgan Stanley’s auto team now projects 40% of new car sales globally will be EVs by 2030 – meaning annual production of 36 million electric cars within eight years, up from around four million in 2021.China is already easily the world’s biggest market for EVs with total sales of 1.3 million vehicles in 2020, more than 40% of global sales that year. But it is also becoming the dominant player in battery production. And the EV market’s rapid expansion is increasingly focusing attention on the raw materials – lithium, nickel and cobalt, as…

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