<article><p class="lead">China's new energy vehicle (NEV) production and sales refreshed record highs in July. </p><p>The country produced 284,000 NEVs in July, up by 170.8pc from a year earlier, with sales up by 164.4pc to 271,000 over the same period, according to data from the China Automotive Manufacturers Association (CAAM).</p><p>Total output rose to 1.504mn in January-July, up by 195.6pc on the year, with sales moving up by 197.1pc to 1.478mn units.</p><p>China has been accelerating development of NEVs to achieve its carbon-neutral targets by 2060. Beijing has extended government subsidies on NEVs for two years to the end of 2022 and exempted the purchase tax on NEVs for 2021-22.</p><p>CAAM forecasts the country's NEV sales will hit 2.4mn units in 2021 from an earlier prediction of 1.8mn units. This may boost demand for lithium-ion batteries and metal feedstocks.</p><p>Total output of power batteries rose to 74.7GWh during January-June, up by 217.5pc from a year earlier, with installed volumes increasing by 200.3pc to 52.5GWh over the same period, according to data from CAAM.</p><p>Strong demand from the NEV industry has bolstered lithium prices. <i>Argus </i>yesterday assessed prices for 99.5pc grade carbonate and 56.5pc grade lithium hydroxide, key materials in production of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, higher at 94,000-98,000 yuan/t ex-works and Yn108,000-113,000/t ex-works respectively.</p><p><table class='tbl-excel'><tr><td class='tbl-header'>China&#39;s NEV production and sales </td><td class='tbl-header'></td><td class='tbl-header'></td><td class='tbl-header tbl-right tbl-italic'></td><td class='tbl-header tbl-right tbl-italic'></td><td class='tbl-header tbl-right tbl-italic'>t</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-columnheader tbl-bold tbl-left tbl-center'>Type</td><td class='tbl-columnheader tbl-bold tbl-right tbl-center'>21-Jul</td><td class='tbl-columnheader tbl-bold tbl-right tbl-center'>Y-o-y &#177; %</td><td class='tbl-columnheader tbl-bold tbl-right tbl-center'>M-o-m &#177; %</td><td class='tbl-columnheader tbl-bold tbl-right tbl-center'>Jan-Jul&#39;21</td><td class='tbl-columnheader tbl-bold tbl-right tbl-center'>Y-o-y &#177; %</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-subheader tbl-center'>Total production</td><td class='tbl-right'>284,000</td><td class='tbl-right'>170.8</td><td class='tbl-right'>14.3</td><td class='tbl-right'>1,504,000</td><td class='tbl-right'>195.6</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-left'>Pure-electric</td><td class='tbl-right'>232,000</td><td class='tbl-right'>180.0</td><td class='tbl-right'>13.7</td><td class='tbl-right'>1,260,000</td><td class='tbl-right'>220.0</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-left'>Plug-in hybrids</td><td class='tbl-right'>52,000</td><td class='tbl-right'>150.0</td><td class='tbl-right'>20.9</td><td class='tbl-right'>244,000</td><td class='tbl-right'>110.0</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-left'>Fuel-cell</td><td class='tbl-right'>32</td><td class='tbl-right'>360.0</td><td class='tbl-right'>-92.8</td><td class='tbl-right'>664</td><td class='tbl-right'>48.5</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-subheader tbl-center'>Total sales</td><td class='tbl-right'>271,000</td><td class='tbl-right'>164.4</td><td class='tbl-right'>5.8</td><td class='tbl-right'>1,478,000</td><td class='tbl-right'>197.1</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-left'>Pure-electric</td><td class='tbl-right'>220,000</td><td class='tbl-right'>170.0</td><td class='tbl-right'>4.3</td><td class='tbl-right'>1,227,000</td><td class='tbl-right'>220.0</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-left'>Plug-in hybrids</td><td class='tbl-right'>50,000</td><td class='tbl-right'>160.0</td><td class='tbl-right'>13.6</td><td class='tbl-right'>252,000</td><td class='tbl-right'>130.0</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-left'>Fuel-cell</td><td class='tbl-right'>196</td><td class='tbl-right'>4,800.0</td><td class='tbl-right'>-27.9</td><td class='tbl-right'>675</td><td class='tbl-right'>47.7</td></tr><tr><td class='tbl-footer tbl-right tbl-italic' colspan='6'>Source: CAAM</td></tr></table></p></article>