STEVO
You are right, I might not have expressed myself sufficiently clear as far as the car manufacturers are concerned - I apologize!
With conventional car manufacturers, while they have not officially announced a switch to full EV manufacturing (it will ruin their business models), compared to the token hybrid and EV initiatives of the past, I firmly believe that they are now at a stage where they suddenly realize that they need to seriously lift their game on EVs or they will rapidly become irrelevant.
VW has to atone for its sins of the past and looks like a leader of the conventional ICE manufacturers as far as the "switch to EVs" is concerned:
https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/news/2019/03/VW_Group_JPK_19.html22 million EVs in 10 years - that is more meaningful than just a single token EV car model.
Likewise, Volvo states (see here:
https://www.volvocars.com/au/buy/your-guide/electric-cars):
And in 2017, Volvo Cars became the first manufacturer to declare that its entire model range would become electrified in at least some form: mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fully electric.People involved in lithium mining - i.e. those talking to car manufacturers who want to lock in their future lithium supplies - while they obviously are talking their own book, it seems to them that the "switch" is already happening (note this is an article from 2017, that already spoke about the "tipping point" being reached):
https://thewest.com.au/business/diggers-dealers/electric-car-switch-reaching-tipping-point-ready-to-spark-lithium-rush-says-pilbara-minerals-ken-brinsden-ng-b88560790zAnalysts like Bloomberg see a plethora of EVs hitting the market:
Some people say, that in future, China will be the most important market for car manufacturers. Here is a list of EV car manufacturers in China:
So STEVO, in light of the above, while you are correct that strictly speaking the old-world car manufacturers are not yet committed to a full switch to EVs, to me, I can see cracks in their ranks, I can see a wave of new EVs about to hit the market, I see China pushing EVs, Warren Buffet investing in BYD, and in combination with more and more countries setting dates for the phasing out of ICE vehicles, the momentum towards EVs is simply unstoppable.
All IMHO.
