Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining is considering producing cathode battery materials in the United States among other options as it looks to expand output to meet demand from electric vehicles, an executive said on Thursday…Sumitomo Metal, which supplies the nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA) cathode materials for the Panasonic lithium-ion batteries used in Tesla EVs, is building a plant in Niihama, western Japan, to boost annual cathode production capacity by 24,000 metric tons in 2025 from 60,000 tons now…"Where and when to increase our production capacity next time depends on each country's regulations and laws," Katsuya Tanaka, managing executive officer, told an analyst meeting…"We are examining the impact from any changes to laws and regulations, including the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), will have on business, if we were to invest in the United States, especially with the presidential election coming up next year," he said…Sumitomo Metal plans to bolster its annual output capacity to 120,000 tons by March 2028 and 180,000 tons by March 2031.

Leaders of the 14 member states of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) agreed Thursday to launch a dialogue channel tasked with building stable supply chains in critical minerals, Korea's presidential office said…The second IPEF summit was held in San Francisco on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, with the participation of leaders from the member nations, including Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida…"They also agreed to form a 'critical minerals dialogue' for the establishment of stable critical mineral supply chains and an 'IPEF Network' for the vitalization of people-to-people exchanges among the member countries," it said in a press release…It also said the agreement to promote $155 billion worth of new investments in the clean energy sector by 2030 will open large business opportunities for Korean companies…IPEF, which was launched by Biden in 2022, is widely regarded as a U.S. initiative to counter China's growing influence in the region…The participating nations are Korea, the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, India and Fiji, which together account for 40 percent of the global gross domestic product and 28 percent of global goods and services trade.

Chinese car manufacturers are ahead in the EV race, not only is their domestic market the most developed, but Chinese brands are soon predicted to take over the West. Production costs, government support, availability of natural resources and supply chains all suggest that China will prevail as a world leader in the EV industry…According to the Chinese Association of car manufacturers, the number of EVs sold annually in the country grew from 1.3 million to a whopping 6.8 million between 2019 and 2022. In comparison to ICE vehicles, approximately 25% of passenger cars sold in China last year were either fully electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles, according to Counterpoint Research…In the international markets, Chinese brands now represent approximately half of all EVs sold. UBS analysts have predicted that China’s global market share will nearly double to 33% by 2030, while traditional Western automakers will witness their market share decline from 81% in 2023 to 58%. An influx of cheaper Chinese EVs will result in Western automakers losing approximately 20% of their global market share…How did the industry get here? China’s comparative advantage…In an article by the world-renowned MIT Technology review, analysts put together a compelling theory about how generous government subsidies and proximity to crucial raw materials made China a world-leading industry in electric vehicles…The story of how the sector got here starts in the early 2000s. While China produced ICE vehicles very intensively and at a scale that was irreplicable in any other country, no domestic brand had a notable international presence or had the potential to succeed in the West…According to the MIT Technology Review, the Chinese government realised this and decided to depart from conventional technology to allocate resources to an innovative domain within the automobile sector: electric vehicles. The potential payoff was substantial; an early start to the EV race could result in China gaining a substantial share of the global automotive sector, while also addressing a major issue in the country; street pollution…As early as 2001, the Chinese government took steps towards transforming its existent supply chains towards the production of EVs, introducing this technology as a priority science research project in China’s Five-Year Plan…According to BloombergNEF, with over 80% of electric vehicle battery cells being manufactured in China, the country’s supply chain increasingly controls the mining and processing of essential minerals like lithium, cobalt, manganese, and rare earth metals.

New models introduced by technology firms are redrawing China’s electric vehicle (EV) landscape, as premium cars with cutting-edge digital features such as automation lure mainland Chinese drivers away from segment leader Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y, industry observers said…In China, the world’s largest EV market, where “intelligent” battery-powered vehicles are a must-have, Huawei Technologies, Baidu and Xiaomi are challenging established players and heightening concerns about overcapacity and a price war…“Intelligent features such as autonomous driving technology and voice-activated controls are what sell cars [in China] now,” said Zhao Zhen, a sales director with Shanghai-based dealer Wan Zhuo Auto. “It is not like a decade ago, when horsepower and exterior design attracted Chinese motorists.”

Li Auto said on Friday it will start mass production and delivery of its first fully electric car in February, as the up-and-coming Chinese automaker bets on fast-charging technology to solve range anxiety for EV users…Li Auto said its MEGA multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), with a waterdrop-shaped front design, is to be equipped with 800-volt charging architecture and Chinese battery giant CATL's latest Qilin batteries. The combination would give the MEGA a range of 500 km (310 miles) on a 12-minute charge, the company said…Li Auto, which has already started taking pre-orders in China for the new model at an estimated price of under 600,000 yuan ($83,000), also touted the low air resistance of its streaming design, which reduces energy consumption and extends the driving range…Li Auto aims to outsell BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi in China in 2024. "The MEGA is appealing to wealthier, millennium generation Chinese families who are increasingly having more children and need vehicles in this size," said Bill Russo, CEO of Shanghai-based advisory firm Automobility…Founded in 2015, Li Auto offers four extended range hybrid SUVs priced above 300,000 yuan and designed for family users. It ranked seventh by sales volume in the first ten months this year among manufacturers of electric and hybrid cars in China and hasn't unveiled any plans to sell its cars overseas.