Gasoline, diesel cars continue losing EU market share

Market: Electricity, Fertilizers, LPG, Metals, Oil products
23/04/21

Diesel and gasoline-powered cars saw a rapid loss of market share in the EU in the first quarter as consumers increasingly opt for hybrid electric vehicles (EVs) and electrically-chargeable cars.

Figures from industry association the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) show gasoline car sales in the EU fell by 16.9pc on the year to 1.1mn in January-March, driving their share of the passenger car market down to 42.2pc from 52.3pc in the same period of 2020. Among the countries registering strong declines were Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy. France was a notable exception among the bloc's major economies. Similarly, diesel car sales in the EU dropped by 20.1pc on the year to just under 594,000, representing a market share of 23.2pc, compared with 29.9pc in January-March 2020. ACEA noted double-digit declines in most EU countries including Germany, Spain and France.

In contrast, most types of alternatively powered vehicles increased market share. Sales of battery EVs in the EU were up by 59.1pc from a year earlier to over 146,000 in the first quarter, with "demand still benefiting from government stimuli for zero-emission vehicles", ACEA said. Sales of plug-in hybrids reached more than 208,000, up by 175pc compared January-March 2020, with exceptional growth in Italy helping drive the sharp increase. And sales of hybrid EVs exceeded 470,000, a 101.6pc increase from a year earlier.

Hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery EVs took a combined market share of 32.2pc in January-March.

Meanwhile, demand for natural gas vehicles in the EU declined by 10.1pc on the year to 14,300 during the first quarter, but sales of LPG-fuelled cars almost doubled to reach just over 46,000, "boosted by remarkable gains in France", ACEA said. France is now the second largest EU market for LPG cars, while Italy accounted for more than half of total LPG sales, it said.

By Dafydd ab Iago

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26/12/24

China's GFEX launches polysilicon futures contracts

Beijing, 26 December (Argus) — China's Guangzhou Futures Exchange (GFEX) has launched futures contracts and options for polysilicon today. This is the third contract that GFEX has launched, following the launch of its contracts for silicon metal in December 2022 and lithium carbonate in July 2023. The launch of polysilicon contracts is aimed at easing a supply surplus and ensuring market development, given increasing new capacities at polysilicon producers and lower-than-expected demand from the downstream silicon wafer industry in the past two years, according to market participants. The new contracts are for benchmark N-type polysilicon and substitute P-type polysilicon. The exchange has set a premium of 12,000 yuan/t ($1,644/t) for the N-type over the P-type. It is offering seven contracts starting from June 2025 until December. The most-traded June contracts for N-type polysilicon on the GFEX closed at Yn41,570/t on 26 December, up from the launch price of Yn38,600/t, with trading volumes totalling 301,655 lots, equivalent to around 905,000t. GFEX has established delivery points for the new contracts in eight provinces, including Inner Mongolia, Sichuan, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang. Output and consumption in these regions account for 93.1pc and 91pc of the country's total output and consumption respectively, according to GFEX. South China-based GFEX launched in April 2021 and is partly owned by China's four operational futures exchanges — the Shanghai Futures Exchange, Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, Dalian Commodity Exchange and the China Financial Futures Exchange — with each holding a 15pc stake. Market reaction Some market participants expect the new futures contracts will ease pressure from ample spot inventories and shore up spot market sentiment in the coming months. But the market has yet to see immediate effects on the first trading day. Argus -assessed domestic prices for 5-5-3 grade silicon metal — a key feedstock in the production of silicon powder, which is the feedstock for polysilicon — held at Yn11,200-11,400/t delivered to ports on 26 December, unchanged from 24 December given limited buying interest from consumers. The most-traded February contracts for 5-5-3 grade silicon on the GFEX closed at Yn11,190/t on 26 December, down from Yn11,585/t on 25 December. China is the world's largest polysilicon producer, producing 1.74mn t during January-November, up by 33pc from a year earlier, according to data from the China nonferrous metals industry association (CNIA). It has an production capacity of over 2mn t/yr, according to industry estimates. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Japan’s crude steel output to recover in FY2025: IEEJ

26/12/24

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26/12/24

Japan’s crude steel output to recover in FY2025: IEEJ

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Viewpoint: US ethane to be oversupplied for 2025

24/12/24

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24/12/24

Viewpoint: US ethane to be oversupplied for 2025

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Meanwhile, ethane production is set to reach a record high for the 11th consecutive year, with monthly production averaging 2.78mn b/d over the same period, up from a 2.65mn b/d average over the whole of 2023. Waha gas prices turned positive in the second half of November and spiked to a multi-month high of $2.56/mmBtu on 2 December, pushing ethane prices to a 13-month high of 25.625¢/USG the following day as downstream buyers bid higher to fulfill contracts for the month . Ethane's rally was brief, however, with Mont Belvieu prices falling to 22.5¢/USG over the next week even as Waha climbed further. Record ethane inventories Ethane inventories hit record highs in 2024, according to EIA data, including a peak of 80.89mn bl in July, 79.5mn bl in August and 77.23mn bl in September. Mont Belvieu ethane has also been in backwardation in December, with January prices at a 2-4c discount to prompt December prices, encouraging selling interest. 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Playing catch-up If projections are accurate, 2024's record end-of-year ethane supply will exceed the peak previously set in 2020 of 69.6mn bl, based on EIA data. The first VLEC loadings at Energy Transfer's 180,000 b/d Nederland, Texas, export terminal began in January of 2021, resulting in year-end inventories reaching a relative trough in 2022 at 53.55mn bl before rebounding by nearly 50pc in the last two years. Domestic ethane consumption growth has kept pace with or fallen behind growth in production since 2020. Conversely, ethane exports in 2021 jumped by 98,000 b/d to 369,000 b/d on the opening of the Nederland terminal and grew more slowly in 2022 and 2023. Exports of US ethane are limited by infrastructure at receiving terminals abroad and the specialized vessels required to ship the lighter feedstock. 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Viewpoint: US tariffs, new EAFs may alter scrap flows

24/12/24

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24/12/24

Viewpoint: US tariffs, new EAFs may alter scrap flows

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Viewpoint: US Gulf high-octane component prices to rise

24/12/24

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24/12/24

Viewpoint: US Gulf high-octane component prices to rise

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