FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC) announced today it plans to increase its production capacity of lithium hydroxide by a total of 20,000 metric tons per year, tripling its production. The company is betting that there will be strong demand for its battery-grade lithium hydroxide caused by “rapid growth of electric vehicle sales.”
Growing use of hybrids are a possible justification, but the bet just isn’t reflected in the actual sales numbers of hybrids and EVs . They remain less than 4% of U.S. vehicle sales in total.
While the average energy efficiency of EVs is improving, gasoline and diesel vehicles are increasingly more efficient, which also reduces fossil fuel consumption and lowers emissions, too. This means that consumers still show a strong preference for far less costly conventional vehicles.
Year-to-date with a state of the art hybrid, the Chevrolet Volt has sold 6000 units. The comparably sized Chevrolet Cruze sold 14,000. Production of the Cadillac ELR – a version of the Cruze on sale since 2014 – ended a few months ago and only about 100 units remain on dealer lots, Automotive News reports.
No wonder FMC is hedging: “Our phased expansion approach allows FMC to execute annual and multi-year sales contracts for each increment prior to commissioning,” said Tom Schneberger, vice president and global business director, FMC Lithium.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
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