Ryan Stancil,
Editor
Nov. 28, 2022
Lithium is already one of the big investment stories out there.
But it’s only going to become a bigger deal over the next few years.
Electric cars are driving much of the increased demand behind this metal. Every manufacturer you can think of needs it, and only a few companies can supply it. So prices are going up as everyone fights to secure enough supply to get their cars on the road.
This is happening everywhere, with China and the US — two of the biggest lithium consumers — looking to get as much as they can.
And as the entire world undergoes this massive transformation, you’re going to see more headlines about the need for lithium and the competition for it.
You’re also going to see more stories about what this transformation will look like in a way that will affect your day-to-day life.
Here are three recent examples of what I mean:
Domino’s Electrifies Delivery
Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) has a plan to put over 800 pizza delivery vehicles on the road by the end of next year. The company is going to rely on Chevy Bolt electric cars to deliver pizza to its customers. The 855 electric vehicles will make it one of the largest EV fleets in the country. That isn’t enough to cover every Domino’s location in the country, but it does show just how things are changing.
These cars can travel 259 miles on a single charge, and most delivery places only serve their local areas. So you can see how adopting an EV makes sense from an economical standpoint. If this is successful and Domino’s expands beyond its 855 planned cars by the end of next year, it would only make sense for other restaurants that deliver to follow.
BYD Expands into Brazil
Chinese automaker BYD (OTC: BYDDF) plans on offering two new electric vehicles in Brazil, which is Latin America’s largest vehicle market. It also recently signed a letter of intent to set up vehicle production in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. The intention is to build cars, trucks, and buses at three different plants with an investment of $550 million. The company would also process locally sourced lithium for export back to China.
As it is right now, EV sales in Brazil make up about 2.4% of sales. BYD thinks that could climb to 10% by 2025 and 30% by 2030.
BYD is one of the biggest EV manufacturers in China and is backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK). Many of its models are among the best-selling in China and it has its own electric battery division, which is the third-largest producer of batteries in the world. Its recent moves in Brazil show its ambitions for expanding and make another case for why lithium demand and investment are only going to go up.
NAPA Auto Parts Responds to the Market
NAPA Auto Parts — owned by Genuine Parts Co. (NYSE: GPC) — a longstanding retailer that offers automotive parts and services, will be offering training and engaging in partnerships to address increasing EV ownership in the US.
This includes working with EV service companies to build at-home chargers, and creating product lines for things like thermal management systems and brake system parts.
And even though EV adoption has increased, the number of technicians who can work on them hasn’t kept up. That’s why NAPA is offering training sessions to close that skill gap. Training will focus on maintaining and servicing vehicles and charging systems.
NAPA sees the landscape is changing and is changing its own business model accordingly. With the US aiming to get as many people in EVs as possible, companies are taking note.
So as you can see, the trends of EV growth and lithium demand climbing are having effects that ripple out and cause growth and change in related sectors.
These are just some of the ways lithium demand is changing the world, but we’ll see many more before you know it.
That’s why you want to get in on a lithium investment that has the potential to skyrocket when the rest of the sector takes off.
It’s the kind of investment story that only comes along once in a generation, and buying early is how you get the best profit potential.
Ryan Stancil
Editor, Daily Profit Cycle