A slew of extensive stimulus measures to boost the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic is unlikely to provide any immediate support to prices for cobalt and lithium in China, according to market participants.
In the past two weeks, several European countries, including Germany and the United Kingdom, either announced schemes to encourage the adoption of EVs or said they were working on such measures.
Early this month, Germany doubled the incentive offered to buyers of EVs as part of a ?,?130-billion ($148-billion) economic-recovery package. Buyers of pure EVs will get a ?,?6,000 subsidy from the government.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is considering giving up to ?6,000 ($7,652) to drivers who swap their petrol or diesel cars for EVs, according to a British media report. He is expected to announce the plan on July 6.
Incentives of this sort coupled with
a recent restart of operations by automotive plants in Europe have improved sentiment in China where EV development has slowed down due to subsidies being cut in the past two years. Consumer confidence has also been dented by Covid-19.