Americans Weigh In On EV Preferences, Lithium Continues Sliding, Physical Button Future

The Automotive Troublemaker w/ Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier

Welcome to Wednesday friends. Today we’re talking about a new Reuters/IPSOS poll about consumers' EV preferences. We also cover the continued slide of Lithium prices, as well as the return to push buttons in vehicles.

• According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, over one-third of Americans would consider buying an electric vehicle for their next car,
  • 34% of all respondents would consider purchasing an EV, with Democrats being more likely to consider it at 50%, compared to Republicans at 26%, and independents at 27%
  • 56% of respondents would be willing to pay no more than $49,999 for an EV, and 35% would want an EV that offers 500 or more miles of electric driving range per full charge
  • In the next several weeks, the EPA plans to propose new, more stringent vehicle emissions rules through at least the 2030 model year
    
• Good news for EV makers as battery-grade lithium carbonate prices experienced the biggest drop of the year in China yesterday, down 3.85% from Friday. Falling prices could help ease cost pressures, while lithium miners' shares have been hit.
  • As opposed to the tripling of prices from Nov ‘21 to Nov ‘22, the market is set to drop a further 25% by year-end, according to a recent Reuters report.
  • Factors include rare discounts from Chinese battery giant CATL and new capacity coming online from companies such as Albemarle and Livent.
  • Electric vehicles currently make up 80% of lithium-ion battery demand
    
• If you found yourself longing for that analog world after you realized that those new touchscreen controls in your fancy new car were kind of terrible, you aren’t alone. It also turns out, they are quite the safety hazard. That’s why Hyundai is committed to bringing them back.
  • According to Hyundai's head of design, Sang Yup Lee, physical buttons are a necessity for common functions like climate control, radio controls, windows, and more
  • Tactile feedback is essential for no-look control
  • Sang Yup Lee, Head of Design at Hyundai suggested that the company may consider using touch controls more heavily when autonomous driving becomes more common. Until then, physical controls remain a priority for the automaker
  • Reddit users weighed in with many citing dangerous situations like digital steering wheel features auto activating when becoming wet from rain on entry

Hosts: Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier
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