Iola Hughes: EV Market Has Strong Upside Despite 2022 Headwinds

Iola Hughes: EV Market Has Strong Upside Despite 2022 Headwindsyoutu.be

The electric vehicle (EV) industry has grown significantly in the past two years, driven primarily by China, but with regions such as Europe also showing strength.

Mass adoption of EVs is still dependent on reaching price parity with internal combustion engine vehicles, but as governments push to move away from fossil fuels, support for the industry is increasing.

This year has been interesting for the EV market, Iola Hughes of Rho Motion said in conversation with the Investing News Network (INN) at this year’s Benchmark Week. Headwinds for the sector came after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s lockdowns in the first few months of the year, but improvements soon followed.

“As we've progressed throughout the year, we've seen a much stronger recovery than anticipated, largely coming from the Chinese market, and significant ramp up of OEMs,” she told INN on the sidelines of the Los Angeles-based conference.

Looking at what might be ahead in 2023, Hughes said the upside is strong for the EV market, primarily due to China.

“If those OEMs can start to export into the European market as well, we're going to see the presence of those Chinese OEMs definitely increasing in other markets as well,” she said. “As we look to next year, we're going to see more models coming online, more production facilities.”

The research manager also talked about battery chemistry trends in different regions.

“North America at the moment is really dominated by nickel-cobalt-aluminum, and the remainder of the market is being made up by nickel-cobalt-manganese, with a little bit of lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) coming through from imports of China,” she said. “In China, the LFP story has really been stepping up this year — we're seeing close to 40 percent of that market being LFP cathodes.”

Hughes also shared her insights on what other factors could impact the EV sector next year. Listen to the interview above to learn more of her thoughts, or click here for the full Benchmark Week playlist.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.